GM Exports and China's New Energy Vehicles

GM's China Exports to the US

A few days ago we saw the news that GM is planning to export a surprisingly precise number of cars from China to the US in 2011 -- 17,335, to be exact. Today, Bloomberg reports that GM is negotiating with the UAW over the number of cars to be exported from China.

A few days ago, the number of cars to be exported from China was, as far as anyone knew, zero. How clever of GM to suddenly introduce this straw man into the negotiations! I'll admit that I'm not a big fan of the UAW, but I'm pretty sure they're smart enough to figure this out.

China Will Lead the World in New Energy Vehicles. China Daily says so.

Last week I posted my views that the new energy vehicle market is not China's for the taking. Today, China Daily offers the opposite view, supporting its view with many of the arguments I countered last week including the fact that China's plan calls for the production of 500,000 electric cars annually by 2011, and the fact that "Warrant" Buffet has invested in BYD.

Their ace-in-the-hole, however is the fact that Peter Stevens, British designer of Lamborghini and Lotus models, was wowed by the electric bicycles he saw in the streets on a recent visit to China.

Maybe I need to re-think this...