Expected: the shake-up of the automotive industry – Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein
by Fons1 via FlickrThe Chinese automotive industry is expecting a shake-up, not a meltdown like elsewhere in the world, says Shaun Rein, managing director of the China Market Research Group in an interview with Bloomberg.
Consumers in China are still going strong, Rein discovered from research. Seventy percent will go on spending, although both real estate and the automotive industry are excluded from this strong consumer demand.
This expected downturn in demand will trigger off a shake-up with both losers and winners. Peugeot laid off thousand people, but people have not stopped buying cars, they have stopped buying Peugeots, says Rein.
Domestic cars are still doing well, since they do not have import tax issue, but also on the high end of the market BMW and Mercedes are still doing well. Toyota is a winner because they have been very innovative in produce fuel-efficient cars, but less innovative automakers like Fiat and GM might be losing out.
More in the interview below.