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People need to understand that 25% import tax is a feature not a bug, it allows Tesla to be classified as imported cars, separating itself from a long list of A

People need to understand that 25% import tax is a feature not a bug, it allows Tesla to be classified as imported cars, separating itself from a long list of American/German cars made in China with a local partner. There are huge demand for such "imported" cars. Look at Porsche, every single one of its cars are imported into China with stupidly high taxes, yet 1/3 of its global sales are in China, you need to wait 3-6 months to get the most popular models (Macan and Cayenne).

dagw 9y ago
I've heard that it's the same with Volvo. Volvo Cars is a Chinese owned company with manufacturing in China, but upper middle class Chinese happily pay a hefty premium for an imported Volvo made in Sweden.
wingerlang 9y ago
Someone told me the same applies in Thailand. Something about owning a Porsche (etc) showed more than normal wealth because you know they pay a huge extra on top of the already high price. That was the gist of it anyway.
yourapostasy 9y ago
Can a "cultural translator" explain why the Chinese consumer market is so highly susceptible to Western marketing of import brand marks, for highly-specific products, when otherwise they appear strongly nationalistic? This doesn't seem to broadly carry over into all products. My gut-feel impressions from visiting China: Cars, yes. Phones, no. Scotch, yes. Watches, no. Clothes, no. Houses, no. Household appliances, no. Bottled water, no. Americans have their yes/no list, various European citizens have theirs, and so on. And there are sub-groups (like I'm aware of a market for ultra-premium watches with 5-figure+ USD price tags among some hedge fund types), but I'm interested in characterizations at a broad national level. I'm curious to hear from Chinese or Chinese culture-fluent what factors in their opinions went into the make up the Chinese national variant of this list.
- fastball 9y ago
  I'd just like to modify your list in that I think wealthy Chinese consumers are highly susceptible to certain designer clothing and accessories, ala Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc. I think everything else can be explained by a sort of clash between utilitarianism and a desire for status symbols. Tools that can be readily copied in China and produced much more cheaply are sold as that: tools. So phones, watches, appliances, etc. Cars and clothes can also be readily copied, but even in the west they show more status than the other things listed. So when it comes time to copy them, it's more apparent when you have a Chinese knockoff vs. an "original". Scotch is hard to copy.
  - user5994461 9y ago
    1) Status 2) price+quality 3) localization 4) regulation 5) not necessarily in this order For instance take a look at Xiaomi phones. They are better in every aspect than any western phone you could find in the < 500$ price range. Western cars are designed for regulations that don't exist in China, think of emission controls and safety. Local manufacturers don't bother with that. Expect any western car to be overpriced and inappropriate for the china market. Truly luxury brands like Apple and Porsche makes it because of status.
    - dis-sys 9y ago
      not sure whether Apple is a still a status thing, I mean just look at their completely failed launch of iPhone 8 and the huge discount you can get for that phone. it is more like a phone designed for old people.
    - notfromhere 9y ago
      That's probably why the wealthy are buying Western cars, they're safer. Hard to be rich when you get crumpled like a tincan in a locally produced vehicle
icc97 9y ago
I think a better comparison is whether the Chinese prefer a VW Jetta built in China as part of the FAW-VW joint venture or a German built one. Luxury cars will always typically be built in the country of origin as they're not mass market.
mproud 9y ago
Imported typically means it was sold in a foreign market first before the U.S. Not the case here with Tesla. People know them as an American company, just like Apple is an American company that imports products made in China.

dagw 9y ago

I've heard that it's the same with Volvo. Volvo Cars is a Chinese owned company with manufacturing in China, but upper middle class Chinese happily pay a hefty premium for an imported Volvo made in Sweden.

wingerlang 9y ago

Someone told me the same applies in Thailand. Something about owning a Porsche (etc) showed more than normal wealth because you know they pay a huge extra on top of the already high price. That was the gist of it anyway.

yourapostasy 9y ago

Can a "cultural translator" explain why the Chinese consumer market is so highly susceptible to Western marketing of import brand marks, for highly-specific products, when otherwise they appear strongly nationalistic? This doesn't seem to broadly carry over into all products. My gut-feel impressions from visiting China: Cars, yes. Phones, no. Scotch, yes. Watches, no. Clothes, no. Houses, no. Household appliances, no. Bottled water, no. Americans have their yes/no list, various European citizens have theirs, and so on. And there are sub-groups (like I'm aware of a market for ultra-premium watches with 5-figure+ USD price tags among some hedge fund types), but I'm interested in characterizations at a broad national level. I'm curious to hear from Chinese or Chinese culture-fluent what factors in their opinions went into the make up the Chinese national variant of this list.

fastball 9y ago
I'd just like to modify your list in that I think wealthy Chinese consumers are highly susceptible to certain designer clothing and accessories, ala Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc. I think everything else can be explained by a sort of clash between utilitarianism and a desire for status symbols. Tools that can be readily copied in China and produced much more cheaply are sold as that: tools. So phones, watches, appliances, etc. Cars and clothes can also be readily copied, but even in the west they show more status than the other things listed. So when it comes time to copy them, it's more apparent when you have a Chinese knockoff vs. an "original". Scotch is hard to copy.
- user5994461 9y ago
  1) Status 2) price+quality 3) localization 4) regulation 5) not necessarily in this order For instance take a look at Xiaomi phones. They are better in every aspect than any western phone you could find in the < 500$ price range. Western cars are designed for regulations that don't exist in China, think of emission controls and safety. Local manufacturers don't bother with that. Expect any western car to be overpriced and inappropriate for the china market. Truly luxury brands like Apple and Porsche makes it because of status.
  - dis-sys 9y ago
    not sure whether Apple is a still a status thing, I mean just look at their completely failed launch of iPhone 8 and the huge discount you can get for that phone. it is more like a phone designed for old people.
  - notfromhere 9y ago
    That's probably why the wealthy are buying Western cars, they're safer. Hard to be rich when you get crumpled like a tincan in a locally produced vehicle

icc97 9y ago

I think a better comparison is whether the Chinese prefer a VW Jetta built in China as part of the FAW-VW joint venture or a German built one. Luxury cars will always typically be built in the country of origin as they're not mass market.

mproud 9y ago

Imported typically means it was sold in a foreign market first before the U.S. Not the case here with Tesla. People know them as an American company, just like Apple is an American company that imports products made in China.