Media outlets in Australia and Japan have been speaking out, both related to Chinese manufacturing, and the shift in sentiment is indeed different!
On September 11, Nikkei News pointed out that even with high tariffs, the sales of Chinese cars in Europe in July increased by 1.9 times year-on-year. Previously, it was European automakers making money in the Chinese market, but now Chinese companies are making money in the European market. Coincidentally, on September 13, an Australian "car expert" website also released a set of facts, stating that Chinese cars have exceeded Australia's quality standards, with four Chinese brands entering the top ten car sales in Australia.
To be honest, it's not surprising that the Australian media said this, as their automotive industry seems not well known. What is strange is the Japanese media, as Japan is undoubtedly a country with a strong automotive industry, having ranked first in car exports for many consecutive years. However, looking at the data of car exports between China and Japan in the first seven months of this year, you can roughly understand the reason: China exported about 4.18 million vehicles, an increase of about 20%, while Japan only exported around 2.3 million vehicles, with an increase of less than 1%.
As the Australian media said, the quality of Chinese cars has indeed changed in recent years. People may not be familiar with the situation abroad, but they should be very familiar with the domestic situation. On one hand, domestic car brands are growing by more than 30% each time, while on the other hand, cars from Japan, South Korea, and Germany are declining by double digits, which is like two extremes of cold and hot.
From the current situation, Chinese brands are rapidly regaining market share in more and more industries. For example, in the clothing industry, Anta recently announced its half-year data, with revenue increasing by 14.3% to 38.54 billion yuan, twice the revenue of Adidas and Nike in China. In the e-commerce platform VIP.com, Anta's sales in July increased by 11%, and the top ten sales were mainly dominated by domestic brands such as Anta, HuiLi, Tibo, Li-Ning, and 361. Last year, VIP.com sold over 200 billion yuan, with 75% being clothing and accessories, so its data is quite meaningful as a reference. The competitiveness of domestic brands today is no longer what it used to be.
Australian and Japanese media are not the first to speak out. In recent years, the reputation of Chinese manufacturing overseas has been growing increasingly. As French media said, Chinese brands are becoming more fashionable and have also acquired foreign brands. In fact, each time they speak out, it not only proves that Chinese brands have changed significantly, but also records the journey from "substitute" to "starter"!
Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1843424382307400/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.