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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Look Out, Detroit: Geely on Track to Be the New Toyota

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(Newser) – The crash of the US auto market has sped up the global auto industry's shift toward emerging markets, and no one is better poised to take advantage than the Chinese, the Wall Street Journal reports. Geely, one of the few Chinese auto firms that operate without a foreign partner, has emerged as a frontrunner to buy Volvo from Ford and experts believe it could be selling its own models to the US in less than 5 years.

Analysts say Geely—which has set up its own engineering colleges around China— appears to be readying itself to repeat Toyota's rise to the top of engineering, but on a vastly accelerated timescale. Many predict an eastward shift of jobs and talent similar to the move of Geely's research and development chief, who quit his job with Chrysler 5 years ago to help develop the auto industry in his native China. "I saw the end of Detroit," he says.

Visitors look at Geely's GE model at the Shanghai International Auto Show.
Visitors look at Geely's GE model at the Shanghai International Auto Show.   (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
The Geely logo is shown at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last year.
The Geely logo is shown at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last year.   (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
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We are making progress. GM is big but moving down. We are small but moving up.
- Frank Zhao, president of Geely's research and development arm

China may soon become the most significant hub of low-cost engineering for the global auto industry. - Michael Laske, head of the China operations of Austrian engine-technology firm AVL List GmbH

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15 comments
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Todd_English
Jul 15, 09 7:06 AM CDT
I don't have anything against American cars, but its their own fault they are going bankrupt. While companies like Honda and Toyota were making smaller more fuel efficient cars and developing the hybrid. The American companies were years behind creating fast engines (Hemis,v8s), and marketing their large SUVs like the escalade. I hope its not too late for the big three. There are a lot of jobs at stake. Reply
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+6
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scruffynerfherder
Jul 15, 09 7:27 AM CDT
The problem is not really the types of vehicles that they were making, it was the unit cost and the union demands driving up that unit cost
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+1
IN RESPONSE:
schmidtkoff
Jul 15, 09 8:12 AM CDT
yes but people wanted these cars and still do. or perhaps it was the marketing that drove sales. however we need to retool and jump into the fray. we invented the car for pete's sake. surely we can do a turn around and eclipse the japanese, chinese etc. my fervent hope for our us carmakers.
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-2
IN RESPONSE:
Fondue
Jul 15, 09 8:20 AM CDT
Sorry scruffy, I happen to believe the problem is CEO demands in their contracts and shareholders no giving a damn.
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+1
IN RESPONSE:
JackShephard
Jul 15, 09 10:50 AM CDT
Americans definitely did not invent the car. Ford's production techniques made making cars cheaper and more efficient, but Benz invented the four-stroke gasoline engine some thirty years before Ford made the Model T.
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+3

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