Posted on 07/10/2026 8:48:20 PM PDT by Red Badger
The European auto industry is a case study on how short-sighted trade policy goals, results in consequences.
Previously, German auto companies like Volkswagen entered into trade agreements with China and began manufacturing their vehicles with immediate financial success in the market. However, it did not take long for Chinese auto companies to reverse the engineering and begin to deliver the same quality vehicles at much lower prices.
The Chinese then stop purchasing the Volkswagen vehicles and purchase the cheaper version, while simultaneously begin exporting those same vehicles into the home market from where the technology originated.
Today, with a double-digit decline in production, Volkswagen announces they will cut almost half of their brands due to diminished sales.
BLOOMBERG – BERLIN — Volkswagen reported weak sales numbers on Friday, a day after the giant German automaker announced plans to slash the number of models by nearly half as sales plunged, particularly in China.
The Wolfsburg, Germany-based company said group sales fell 8.6 per cent in the second quarter to just under 2.1 million vehicles, with sales in China alone plummeted by more than one-third.
After a board meeting on Thursday, Volkswagen said its “fundamental realignment” over the last three years had reached its next phase, announcing plans to streamline the model lineup by up to half, without providing specifics.
CEO Oliver Blume laid out plans to make VW faster and more competitive through less complexity, focused technologies, better alignment across regional markets and reduction of overcapacities, among other things, citing an “increasingly demanding environment.”
Among its main brands, the core Volkswagen unit saw deliveries of slightly over 1 million vehicles in the second quarter, a drop of 14 per cent from a year earlier. Deliveries at Audi declined 8 per cent and those at Porsche fell 18 per cent. (read more)
Maybe Canada will take note, likely they will not.
The only way to avoid this issue is to protect the domestic market. As soon as you open your market to this claimed reciprocity (panda face), it will not take long until the mask drops, and you notice the dragon face behind it.
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When I watch old movies (or TV shows) I try to date and identify the cars. The easiest one is the VW Beetle. Stands out everywhere.
There’s something else going on here. Red CHina does not have cars that compete with Porsche, but it dropped twice as much as the other brands. That tells me that people are going downscale because they have less money.
I heard the safety panels in BYD EVs doors is so bad you can crush them with your hand
Also the Chinese cars are not cheaper they’re subsidized to the max by the Chinese government
By 1997 the same thing had happened to McDonnell Douglas. Citing that as evidence, I warned Clateo Castellini of Becton Dickinson when they proposed to move syringe production to China, thus killing syringe production in their plant in Sandy Utah. He said, "We can't ignore that big of a market." Shook my head and decided he was an idiot.
From Brave AI:
While BD maintains manufacturing facilities in China for other products and potentially for local regional markets, its leadership noted in mid-2025 that tariffs were influencing some production strategies. Specifically, BD CEO Tom Polen mentioned that while flush syringes for the U.S. historically came from Nebraska, the company was utilizing its China facility to source products specifically for the Chinese market to mitigate tariff impacts, rather than exporting them to the U.S.
Volkswagen AG, the big parent, has more brands than GM ever did, and has a ton of brands in Europe that don’t come here.
At the high end, there’s Bentley and Lamborghini, which obviously do come here. Along with VW, Audi, and Porsche.
But in Europe, you also have Skoda (Czech Republic), SEAT (Spanish), plus a bunch of other holdings like a piece of Rivian, some commercial vehicle companies, etc.
There’s a lot of room to slim things down by combining SEAT and Skoda with the VW line.
Check out post WWII Japanese movies and some European. Many are American cars. Not now.
Brokerage house forecasters expect a major correction soon and people don’t need fragile, delicate VW’s that are nearly impossible to get serviced.
Can’t trust the Chinese or Muslims apparently.
1973 Simca 1000
“Yes, but T-Birds, Corvettes, Mustangs, Jaguar E-Type, and Lincoln Continentals are also easy to identify. ‘
You got some strange stuff for examples.
Mustangs are a dime a dozen where I live as rental cars. Cheap rental fleet crap.
T-birds? Those thing vanished fast. Marketed for geezers. Stupid market to go after.
Corvettes, OK, from the rarity. Only old fartes buy them to creep around in like it was a Priaps.
Jaguar maybe if you can find one. Had one as a rental in Honolulu and it was the goofiest car I have driven in since a Volvo. Hopefully all the motorized crap keeps working for thise that sucker into buying one.
Lincoln? Do not even know what they look like since they stopped having a hood like an aircraft carrier deck.
About a decade ago, possibly a little longer, VW was the #2 auto manufacturer in the world, threatening Toyota’s #1 spot. VW is still #2, but if this article is right, it will fall. Toyota is still #1 by a large margin.
“Also the Chinese cars are not cheaper they’re subsidized to the max by the Chinese government”
Japanese government to this day heavily subsidize auto companies .
There is a Top Gear episode where Jeremy Clarkson shows German brand cars and their Chinese counterfeit versions.
They just stole the design and the German company did sue but lost in a communist Chinese court....
The states took a piece of vw with the diesel recall. Lost my Golf.
Count the VW Beetles during the Bullitt car chase.
VW Group Has Sold Its Final Stake: After 28 years, Porsche is selling its entire shareholding
https://www.autoblog.com/news/the-bugatti-you-know-is-gone-vw-group-has-sold-its-final-stake
In my opinion, the Bugatti Chiron was THE most perfect car ever created - performance, luxury, stunning aesthetics!
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