"A Toyota bought 20 years ago can still be used today and kept in good working condition. Can the same be said for Chinese NEVs? Only time will tell. "
[My Comments]
While this is a common concern, the tweet above touches quite a few aspects and it is too early or even unfair to the Chinese NEV exporters at this juncture.
I remember my roommate bought a 1986 Honda Civic coupe. Back then, lots of American car owners viewed Japanese cars as "a piece of junk", even though long time owners of Hondas and Toyotas thought otherwise. It takes more than 2 decades for Toyota and Honda to establish as mainstream household brands. BTW, Toyota literally "invented" the notions of JIT, Kanban, TQM, etc., even though Kanban is from Chinese 看板 and concept of QC was from American scholar Edwards Deming. The secret of Toyota can be simply put in one sentence: do whatever it takes to eliminate special cause variations in every step of a production line. Well, today's Super Intelligent Manufacturing in Chinese NEVs such as Seres and Chery are just accomplishing that, although using AI and 5G oriented automation instead of human skills.
The explosive phenomenon of China auto exports is just less than 5 years old. There will definitely be lessons to be learned at all levels. At this moment, in comparison to what it took Japanese auto makers and Korean auto makers to establish themselves as legit global car makers, Chinese auto makers are experiencing parabolic growth, which has both plus and minus baked in.
I drove LX470 for 20 years and 4Runner for 17 years. Those old made-in-Japan cars were really durable and reliable. At the same time, there is myth built into those Japanese cars. All my new car purchases were Japanese except for Audi A6. At this juncture, I don't think Toyota or Honda hold significant advantages in total-cost-of-ownership over BYD or Seres or Chery or SAIC. Automation with 5G and AI have really been leveling the play field in overall car manufacturing quallity. BTW, on this subject, my Audi A6 was good, but not as good as 60K cars in 2011 dolars should have been.
My point is: give them some time and cut them some slacks, for they are doing way better than all wildest expectations - kudos to Chery in particular.
