'Made by China' is what Chinese consumers want now

BUSINESS INSIDER - Aug. 7, 2015

Akio Toyoda has China on his mind.  On Tuesday, the day he announced record earnings, the Toyota Motors president warned of a sharp slowdown in the world's biggest market, echoing concerns already aired by BMW.  But another development in China may spell even more trouble for global carmakers: a $21,700 Land Rover look-alike manufactured domestically.  An SUV bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Evoque model is to hit the market at one-third the price of the original, and it's already racking up thousands of preorders.  Jaguar Land Rover's Ralf Speth has railed at the rise of China's "copy-and-paste" car industry. But complaining is all the chief executive and his peers can do as China continues churning out ever more clones of cars, electronics, appliances, and clothes originally designed in other countries.  The prevailing opinion in boardrooms from New York to Frankfurt to Tokyo has long been that China, which is minting new millionaires at the fastest rate in history and creating a massive middle class, will be easy prey for established brands with expertise in hawking goods to higher-income consumers. The richer mainlanders get, multinational companies presumed, the more they will want Burberry in the closet, Rolex on the wrist, and Lexus parked outside.

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