Heart Set On A Chinese Electric Car? Get Ready To Wait Awhile

If you’re in the habit of reading obscure press releases, you might have seen one recently announcing that Dallas-based Green Automotive Co. had signed an extension to its agreement with China’s Zotye Auto.

Green Automotive now has rights for 10 more years to distribute Zotye’s electric sport utility vehicles in the U.S. market.

It may not take a decade, but you probably won’t have the
chance–and you may not have the desire–to buy a Made-In-China car in
the near term.

Picky buyers

When
it comes to cars, be it electric or gasoline-powered, American buyers
are a very picky bunch. That’s why, despite several optimistic press
releases by companies aiming to import cars from China, there aren’t any
on sale here yet.

In the case of Zotye, though its small electric
SUV looks okay, its fit and finish are far from that required by
American drivers, says Bill Fisher, COO of AmAsia International. His Florida consultancy helps Chinese and U.S. companies understand each others’ markets.

Its
ultimate goal is to import Chinese vehicles. Fisher checked out Zotye’s
vehicles at out at last year’s Auto China in Beijing.  “Their fit and finish is not up to U.S. standards,”  says Fisher.

‘Trying very hard’

Green
Auto did not return my calls. But last July I talked with Steven Fly,
who was CEO of Green Automotive at the time (he is no longer with the
company). He admitted that the early versions of the electric SUV were
not impressive. But Zotye was making a lot of improvements, said Fly.

Just
a few days ago, I talked to Wu Aibing, special assistant to the general
manager of overseas projects at Zotye. Wu said Zotye was “trying very
hard to get the car compliant and localized for the American market.”

That includes meeting safety standards and consumer fit and finish demands.  Wu wouldn’t predict when the cars would be ready. “We have a lot of things to do,” he said.

Zotye
is a very small automaker: It sold fewer than 90,000 light vehicles in
the first 11 months of 2010, according to J.D. Power and Associates. But
even mcuh larger automakers in China have trouble meeting the high bar
set by U.S. consumers.

Bigger BYD delays too

BYD Co. has repeatedly delayed
launching its e6 electric vehicle here in the U.S. Among other reasons,
it said, is to make the car more palatable to American buyers.

It
plans to hire industrial engineers here in the U.S. to work on the
design, says Michael Austin, vice president of the BYD America
subsidiary of BYD Auto.
Meanwhile, BYD has already re-tooled the U.S. version of the e6 chassis
after complaints that there was not enough leg room in the rear seat,
he said.

An industry executive here in the U.S. who is familiar
with BYD’s cars added: “Suspension-wise, they don’t understand U.S.
consumer needs.”

Revisions coming

BYD
already has a few cars on the road here, and it will show a revised
version of its 2012 BYD e6–called the Premier–at next week’s 2011 Detroit Auto Show.  “We have been very careful to listen to consumer and fleet feedback,” said Austin. “We won’t launch if there are concerns that are not addressed.”

Bottom
line: If your heart is set on a car made in China, electric or
otherwise, get ready for a long wait. And even when the two of you do
get together, don’t let the thrill overcome your usual caution.

Make
sure the car you’re considering is built well, has all the features you
want, and feels solid. In other words, is it competitive with the
best-in-class from other carmakers? When Made-in-China cars and
crossovers get to that stage, you’ll hear more about them.

This story originally appeared at Green Car Reports