Quote:
Originally Posted by niky
China is starting to get some of those. And for the same reason... cost savings.
China-only cars based on previous generation models.
But I believe the same fate will eventually befall them. They're going to die out in favor of globalized products with a wider appeal.
|
Some of these vehicles designed specifically for China can actually also have some appeal in other regions. IIRC the Chevrolet Cavalier and the Sail are already available in Mexico, plus the Sail is also not unheard of in other countries closer to Brazil. I even saw some previous-generation ones in Uruguay.
Quote:
|
As markets mature, more and more buyers are switching to automatics. Here in the Philippines, where we have NO intrinsic crash or emissions regulations, only a third of all consumer models offer manuals... mostly the cheaper cars... many crossovers and SUVs don't offer a stick. Being in the industry, I hang out with marketing people and product planners a lot. When the question of offering a manual variant for a new crossover or midsized sedan comes up, we laugh.
|
So, apart from the market becoming more "mature", what about the influence of JDM second-hand imports? At least in Paraguay, the prevalence of automatics might have been a result of this. When it comes to brand-new vehicles, the last one with Paraguayan plates and manual transmission I spotted was a Chinese SUV with its drivetrain being some random copy of older Isuzu designs.
Quote:
|
In other Asian markets, manuals still dominate, but automatic uptake is on the rise, and automatic sales are predicted to outstrip manual sales in the future. In China, luxury cars are almost all autos. Only in the budget category do manuals rule. In Australia, autos dominate. In India, the last bastion of hairy chested balls-to-the-walls driving, MTs still dominate, but the AT segment is growing by leaps and bounds (helped in part by the popularity of cheap automated manuals).
|
The traffic volume might persuade many Chinese drivers to increase the pick rate for the automatics even in smaller econoboxes. Well, they might just copy some random Japanese transmissions as they frequently do anyway... Australia had some influence from the United States through the Canadian subsidiaries of Ford, GM and Chrysler which supplied RHD versions of American cars for overseas markets, even though Australian-made cars ended up having a higher local content than some of its counterparts in South Africa for example. When it comes to India, ease of repair with improvised resources might lead manuals to survive a little longer...
Quote:
|
I'll be sad to see the stick go
|
I could really care less about a stick-shifter. What about paddle-shifters?
Quote:
|
I was sad to see the manual choke go, too.
|
Dude...