Thanks for sharing the video. This is a cool looking car, and I personally would not label it as a Defender clone. Like it or not, the Chinese are coming. We made fun of Japanese cars in the 60's, as well as the Korean cars in the 80's...

 

Agree 100% - just got back from Chile where probably 50% of new cars are Chinese. I could pay (equivalent) $40k USD for a Hilux diesel, or $23k USD for a GWM Poer with basically the same specs and a way better interior. No idea whether it will last as long as the Toyota, but there are a lot of ranchers, contractors, and utility companies running the Chinese trucks so we will know soon.

Saw a Tank 300 in Patagonia that actually uses the same transmission as our Defenders. Solid, modern looking off-road vehicle that lists for just a little over $30k USD equivalent. Very well-reviewed by Australian press and a better interior than any US made vehicle today. 2l turbo engine with 217 HP, 12.3" screen with CarPlay and android, Bosch electronic stability control, adaptive cruise control standard, 2H, 4H, 4L with multiple modes, 700mm wade depth, multiple air bags, 360 degree cameras, etc. etc.

I think once we move on from this tariff nonsense and away from coddling the dinosaur domestic vehicle manufacturers that Chinese vehicles will eat a substantial portion of the lower and middle ends of the vehicle market. I think the competition is great - I thought that's what free markets were supposed to be all about.

 

Free and fair competition. Fairness matters.

 

I don't want to start a political argument - but I'd be very curious to hear what you believe "free and fair competition" looks like?

Does it include the government bailing out with public funds domestic manufacturers that manage their businesses poorly during a financial downturn?
Does it include passing laws making it impossible for overseas manufacturers to compete selling small pickups which is one of the most lucrative markets here? (chicken tax)
Does it include passing laws making it essentially impossible to import cars less than 25 years old for personal use - even if they meet or exceed current safety and emissions standards?
Does it include setting safety and emissions standards that are different to the rest of the developed world, vary regionally, and change regularly?

Just curious - because from my point of view the US car / truck industry is about as far from a free and fair market as it's possible to be. And that's before randomly applied punitive tariffs.

 

As you said, no-one wants a political discussion on this very helpful forum, so no comment.

 

Chinese cars are going to have a hard time getting over here pretty soon - even if there aren't political barriers put in place. Another shipping carrier, this time one that takes cars to Hawaii, has banned EV's from their ships. Eventually, when enough ships burn to the waterline and sink due to EV fires then either the carriers will not allow them on board, or the cost of insuring those shipments will offset any cost savings that intense government industry subsidization, obscene natural resource exploitation resulting in a national material supply vertical integration and global resource constraint, and borderline slave labor could deliver.

 

The Chinese do protect their own with subsidies, and import taxes too -try to import a US truck in China. Good luck !. US does it differently. Is it good or bad ? neither ...
However, there is no way for US to compete with China - on anything really. It can't.
China has a long term plan, a vision to say so ... their own vision (however that may be). US, does not. Every administration has its own agenda and priorities when it changes. That is not a vision, it is a momentary action or reaction.
So ...leaving politics aside, BYD is relatively new. Would this new "Defender" be as well engineered ? would it be reliable ( not that our Defenders are like a tank ) but how would it fare in real conditions not just a mall crawler.
I seriously doubt they will be importing Chinese cars in US any time soon. Not because of the boats, or fire risks, or anything else, but because of lawyers and special interests. So, the Defender will be here for a while (well, unless tariffs will go really stupid).

 

Politics aside, the Chinese would set up factories in the US in a heartbeat if given the opportunity. We gave that opportunity to the Japanese in the eighties in Ohio, the Germans in the nineties with BMW setting up in SC, followed by Mercedes in the late nineties, and then the Koreans in the 2000's. These companies, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai and Kia and multiple other supporting industries they brought along do employ hundreds of thousands of US workers. Meanwhile, we shipped factories out of the US and shuttered the ones we had here laying off thousands of workers. China did not steal our factories, and they helped the balance sheet of US companies by making their US designed goods in China efficiently and in larger quantities than we can ever produce here. US companies contributed to the growth of Chinese manufacturing and made China a manufacturing powerhouse. China invested their fortunes back into training their workforce and modernizing their infrastructure. Their population grew richer and better educated. If you have never been to China, I encourage to visit it and see for yourself. We need to compete with the rest of the world for sure. Someone mentioned slave labor in China and there is no truth to that statement whatsoever. Do your research and you will learn that the Chinese laborers are well protected and compensated. That may have been the case in the late fifties and early sixties. The world has changed a lot since then. Every nation on earth wants a strong manufacturing base for their own national security, there is nothing wrong with that:
US cars are just not too practical in the rest of the word especially our big trucks. Even if they were allowed to be imported around the globe with zero duties, very few buyers would venture into owning one. Setting up a dealer network plus parts distribution in a foreign country is not as easy as importing a truck or a US car. We can bash the Chinese all we want, but if we do not get better with our products and our workforce, protectionist policies and tariffs will not help at all, and I personally believe it would hurst us more than the other countries. Just my 2 cents worth...

 

Much of what you’ve said rings true—at least, for the most part.
Did I miss the part where someone mentioned "slave labor"?

In any case, if Chinese automakers begin establishing factories here, it's quite possible that other car manufacturers in the U.S. could be forced to shut down. That’s not an exaggeration.

One of the core issues in the U.S. is the lack of a truly effective education system. Participation trophies do not equate to learning, and obscure college degrees with little real-world application are hardly the foundation of a competitive workforce. In contrast, Chinese schools and universities are, in many respects, far more rigorous and focused. They have a clear national vision—one I may not always agree with, but it’s undeniably present and actively pursued. That’s how they've managed to build and lead the world’s largest industrial manufacturing sector.

I do believe tariffs have their place—they serve a purpose. You can’t allow your economy to become a dumping ground while producing nothing of your own. But if the goal is to attract companies like Land Rover to build here, then serious incentives are essential. You can’t rely solely on tariffs (the stick) without offering meaningful incentives (the carrot).