Team-BHP - Is it unpatriotic to buy a Chinese car?

Every time the news carries a report of India being given rough treatment by the Chinese government (eg- UN Security Council Membership, Arunachal border disputes etc), one wonders whether India should use its trade relationship with China as a political tool.

Our market is flooded with Chinese goods in every walk of life. Why then are we further increasing our dependence on Chinese manufacturers?

In addition to this, we are seeing 'branded' players like Chevy, Fiat and Ford exiting. They are seeing that they can't play in such fierce competition.

There is also a risk that even some local manufacturers may fold (eg Holden and Ford in Australia).

The latest case in point is MG.

It is a Chinese product that has been badge engineered.

Unlike Tata/Jaguar where Tata is running the old English factory in Coventry or Volvo where Geeley is continuing to make Volvo cars in Sweden, there is nothing British about the Hector.

The Chinese merely bought the naming rights of a defunct British marque and slapped the sticker on their existing car.

Should the motoring community in India buy solely on price/value, or are there other criteria that we should consider?

In principle, in a free market economy and assuming there are no other inter-nation issues; each nation should be allowed access to each other's markets, to buy and sell goods.

In reality, both India and China have a list of goods on which they control access to their home markets via pre-conditions or barriers - like additional duties if goods are not manufactured locally or like requiring foreign companies to have a local partner.

I am not sure if it is a level playing field for Indian auto companies in China vs Chinese auto companies in India.

Viewed from an enemy nation perspective, both India and Pakistan have a pretty long list of items that we cannot trade with each other, and a very short list of items that we can.

Keeping these 2 criteria in mind - is there a level playing field on both sides and whether China is to be viewed in the same light as Pakistan - will lead us to the answer.

Cheers,

FourWheelDrift

I do not think it unpatriotic, but then there is no choice. Chinese products will dominate the Indian as well as global markets.

As you may have noticed, USA, Germany and Japan were the electronic and automobile hubs of the world, but now most of the companies are sinking.
The money is now with the fast growing Asian economies. China, South Korea, India, UAE, etc. These countries now dominate the global markets, either by launching cutting edge technologies or acquiring the sinking companies of the West.

We have seen how 5G was first launched commercially by a South Korean company.
Gone are Sony and Motorola, now its Samsung and Huawei.
Apple, even though being a US company, makes all its phones in China.
Volvo is now one of the fastest growing car makers, and its cars have won awards even in Japan. And the company is owned by a Chinese company.
The Indian digital boom was helped to a large extent by the Chinese companies. They were the ones to offer cheap smartphones to millions of Indians.

So we cannot keep the Chinese away.

If i were to go by this, for all things done to us by England, we should ideally stop buying anything English! Including their Language!

Point is MG or GM or whoever the Auto maker is, he is making certain Investments here to sell his product. In this endeavor, he is also likely to create few thousand local jobs, Maybe even some localisation potential could bring in business to existing suppliers, Tax and duties to our Government, Importantly ensuring there is Price pressure to other competitors who otherwise have chance of obnoxiously increasing the prices !

Ultimately, as a product, if it appeals and creates a sense of value for our herd, we should embrace it!

International Trade itself is a big political tool, which is too much to fit the hands of individual citizens. Hence they are taken up by respective governments and trade federations of the countries. While one is free to avoid or embrace Chinese products, it is to be noted that, many of our daily life is already running on few thousand Chinese parts. Surely, avoiding one Chinese automaker cannot make you more patriotic than what you already are :)

Unpatriotic to buy Chinese? Doubt if buying Japanese, Korean, American, French, German, Czech or Italian would make us any more patriotic than buying Chinese.

If patriotism is the primary criteria - buy TATA Motors or Mahindra instead. I would say that is the right approach rather than targeting any particular brand for their country of origin.

Related thread - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...-decision.html

MG motors might be of Chinese origin, but the 5000 crore investment they announced, the number of staff they have /will employ, the local vendors they would work with, the advertisement revenue they would pump in, the dealers and service centres they would contract, the SAs and technicians they would employ - all would be Indian. And their future is more at stake with such a move against a brand, rather than the Chinese government being affected by it IMHO.

To be very frank, I do try to avoid buying Chinese goods if a similar product is available at a similar/slightly higher price. It is a fact that we do not have the best relations with China and it has in possession a part of Jammu and Kashmir claimed by India. So yes, a Chinese product does not invoke a very positive feeling when I say it out loud and even in my own thoughts.

However, will I brand a person owning a Chinese product unpatriotic? Hell no! Points to ponder-

1. I myself will go for a Chinese product if I do not find a worthwhile alternative.

2. In the present day of global MNCs, buying a Chinese product being sold in India contributes to the Indian economy as well.

3. Most importantly, I am lucky that I can evaluate and decide between various choices comprising of Chinese, Indian and other brands. The vast majority of Indians do not have this luxury. For instance-

Mukesh has a budget of INR 5000. Now he goes to the market to enquire about his choices. Which set of manufacturers do you think will offer him the most choice? Let's have a look at his choices-

a. Settle for the Chinese manufactured phone which offers him the most value for money with a huge screen and comes with 'Jio-Sim' compatibility.

b. Settle for a simpler Indian brand with lesser features/lesser ram and smaller screen size.

c. Pay extra and get similar specs for a higher price. Again, this maybe from a non-Chinese firm or from a Chinese firm with a better reputation.

An average Joe like Mukesh will simply go for option A, not caring about border issues with China or security issues with Chinese phones which are being highlighted by the USA and the EU.

Similar examples can be had for the automotive sector as well like the upcoming MG Hector. If the product itself is good, I won't mind going for it though I will prefer to buy let's say the Compass, Tucson or the upcoming XUV 500 if one of them can satisfy my needs even for a slightly higher price. This does make me biased though, but then who isn't.

When it comes to China, I'd say most of India will agree with me when I say that people buying Chinese products do not simply become unpatriotic. And don't go by the comments you might see on MG YouTube videos. They are mostly made by people who have a choice like me and do not represent an average Indian.

However, if the goods are coming from another neighbour of ours,i.e. Pakistan(excluding edibles), with whom we do not share a very cordial relationship, I'd say even Mukesh will think at least 1000 times before buying a Pakistani product and so will I.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AYP (Post 4573099)

To be very frank, I do try to avoid buying Chinese goods if a similar product is available at a similar/slightly higher price.

However, if the goods are coming from another neighbour of ours,i.e. Pakistan(excluding edibles), with whom we do not share a very cordial relationship, I'd say even Mukesh will think at least 1000 times before buying a Pakistani product and so will I.

Half or more of your dry fruits come from Pakistan and Afghanistan :) So good you excluded edibles.

As for Chinese goods and buying Indian goods at the same or slightly higher price, a lot of Indians buy cheap Chinese stuff, add an Indian brand name label and packaging with ISI, ISO 9001 etc markings whether they have earned those certificates or not, and sell them with a markup.

I wonder how this thread will turn out considering there cannot be a discussion on this topic without touching politics - which isn't permitted on the forum.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KMT (Post 4573063)

I'm sure you realize how insignificant we/our nationalist pride are in the larger scheme of things. International politics doesn't care about nationalism; it is governed by demand and supply, what a nation brings to the table, and how valued it is in the market.

A good example is the US and Saudi. They seem so pally despite all the indiscretions by Saudi (human rights, terrorism) for the simple reason that Saudi has oil. And a customer for the US's weapons. The US has turned a blind eye towards this country while it chides most others for lesser crimes.

Forget cars, take a good look at everything you use: phones, laptops, electronic gadgets, furniture..... . What isn't made in China? I don't intend to be rude, truly, but the notion that you can ignore China is silly by ignorance.

Buy a product for its merits, not on the basis of its country of origin. And as far as Chinese go, I find it amusing that people don't really realise how much of our everyday life have a Chinese link in some way or the other. Becoming a Monk in the Himalayas may be the only possible way to to avoid them all together.

I complete agree with Crazy Driver above : If you want to be patriotic then buy only Tata and Mahindra. Here too you can only aim for being semi patriotic as I am sure multiple parts in their cars would have originated in China too.

For the sake of argument, I would say, TATA please make a JTP version of all the vehicles you are offering (Indica till LPT4940 :) ) and see us BHPians going mad about your brand!!!

Jokes apart! I for one would say we cannot avoid the "chinese" in every product these days especially the electronics which have started to dominate our day to day lives. When we can accept an "indirect" chinese, what is wrong with taking up directly chinese? Going by that logic, Volvo should have flopped now but market response is just the contrary. I am sure, European and Japanese/US markets have more to lose by buying chinese products than us Indians.

We just can't be afraid of competition or stick a "Patriot" sticker to everything.

P.S: TATA, my suggestion on making a JTP Edition of everything (even your Tata Redlabel tea in JTP edition) will make that product my first choice and was not meant as a joke.