Newly released research shows fifteen percent of new car buyers in the United States say they would consider purchasing their next vehicle from China, and eleven percent would consider buying a car from India, without knowing specific brands or vehicles. This compares with sixteen percent who said they would consider a vehicle from Korea, which has been marketing vehicles in the U. S. since the 1980s.
“As Hyundai and Kia have been on the American scene for decades now, it’s surprising that consideration for Chinese and Indian brands, sight unseen, would be about as strong as it is for the Korean brands,” said George Peterson, president of automotive research firm AutoPacific and author of the study. “However, with so many premium and high-tech non-automotive products already being made in China and purchased by Americans, why not automobiles too? It appears that buyers in America are willing to give Chinese and Indian vehicles a chance right out of the box. Understanding these consumers will be critically important to the success of any newcomer.” Continue reading Americans Open to Vehicles From China and India
As part of its commitment to increase the use of renewable materials in vehicle components, Ford’s European Research Centre in Aachen, Germany, is investigating an innovative, new wood-plastic-compound (WPC), so-called liquid wood. The new material is being assessed in a three-year project which started in May 2009. The project is publicly funded within the framework of a technology and innovation programme in Germany’s North-Rhine Westphalia region.
