Chinese-Made Trumpchi Cars Coming to US in 2019

The Drive ^ | NOVEMBER 18, 2017 | DAVE BARTOSIAK

[nickcarraway]

GAC Motors expects to start shipping cars to the US in 2019 but will probably change the name from Trumpchi first

Here in America we’ve grown accustomed to goods made in China. We walk around in Chinese-made shoes, talking on Chinese-made phones through Chinese-made headphones. There’s one major industry where the average American consumer really hasn’t made the leap. That’s the auto industry. However, that may be about to change.

According to the NY Times, Chinese automaker GAC Motor is planning to begin selling cars in the US by the end of 2019. The company hopes to be the first Chinese car brand to take off in the US. They’ve just gone one tiny detail to workout, the name.

Currently GAC Motor cranks out cars under the moniker, Trumpchi. That’s right, various Trumpchi models have been rolling through the streets for China for the last seven years. They’ve gained a following in China as well, with their GS8 midsized SUV a big hit. The company plans to bring over the GS8 along with its new GM8 minivan.

The company is also planning to unveil electric vehicles for export to the United States as well as Europe. They’re hoping to benefit from the $7,500 tax credit currently in place for electric car buyers stateside. This would act as a subsidy for them to gain a foothold in the US market.

GAC Motor is looking to possibly relate the name used in the US to the meaning of Trumpchi in China. Company officials say that Trumpchi sounds a little like a phrase which can be translated to “passing on happiness” in English. The company expects to have the brand’s new name ready for the Detroit auto show this January.

Speaking on the naming conundrum Robert C Maling Jr., a retired Lexus exec who an adviser to GAC, said, “There’s no Obama-mobile, that’s a cultural thing, there’s no Clinton car. It would be confusing to the American public to have the Trumpchi name.”

Regardless of what the name is, Chinese cars will have a tough time cracking the US auto industry. With the amount of tariff protection they receive on mainland China, they really don’t have to come to the US to make money. I can tell you, there is a zero percent chance of me trading in my American-made car for a Chinese import.

Though absent from the House version of the bill, the Senate appears willing to continue the subsidy for EV sales.

One of Germany's largest automakers will heavily invest in China's quest for electrified cars.

If they do what is claimed (which we have no reason whatsoever, based on the history of Musk and Tesla in general to doubt they will) then they will become *the* short-hauler of choice, hands down.

If I were the USAF, I would make plywood outlines of an F-117 and just drive all over the place with them under a tarp to freak out all the spotters.

Isn't try then buy the way the Navy used to acquire new airframes especially during the 1940's? Because if it isn't, then I really botched this attempt to segue in some very pretty F-6 aviation art I just found.

Lol, my brother's wife's 2014? Accord coupe makes more horsepower than this thing.

It seems like they should have been thanking Sony for the free advertising, since far more people see the in-game track than see the real track.

Truthfully, even if the Afghani regulars did have night vision equipment they probably wouldn't be able to figure out how to use it, or they would just sell it for a buck on the dirt trail corner. They barely know which direction to point their gun and can't even do a simple jumping jack, how are they supposed to work anything more advanced than a walkie talkie?

Wow! I'm surprised a high school principal could even afford a nice Jeep considering how we pay teachers in this country.

So, another cookie cutter article. Very nice - at least it's well constructed and spelled correctly.Since Lincoln is selling 2,300 MKZ a month (in round numbers), and Audi is selling 1,300 a month (again, round numbers) of the cheaper, better, faster, more everything (taking from your article) A6 and Cadillac is struggling to sell 900 CTS a month .. how is it that all of you Keebler elf 'journalists' keep pointing to Lincoln's sales numbers as proof of your certainty that this car sucks and is nothing more than a Ford Fusion?Have you - any of you - noticed that when you add adaptive cruise, parking assist, heated/ventilated/massaging seats, a world beating entertainment system, AWD, 400HP, leather &c - ALL cars reach into the $50 - $60K price point unless they're in the next higher size category?One last thing - I realize that it's the vanity of youth that assumes that older people are no longer relevant - but, perhaps you and the rest of your little minion army of copy/paste journalism could lay off the insults that we weren't born after Reagan's inauguration?

[BobL]

If it’s got Trump in the name, then I’m buying it!!!.

[2001convSVT]

That’s it, call it the “Yugo II”. The sad thing is that they will sell a lot because it will be half the price (due to slave labor) of the competition.

[setha]

Looks like a cost issue.

Just not a fan of the turbo I4 econoboxes nor the need to play the depreciation game to get a V6 (or more).