China Hunts Down ’Zombies’ to Fix Failed Auto Policies
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Four years ago, a small Chinese automaker had such big ambitions it broke ground on a $1 billion plant to make more cars than Ford Motor Co. Then reality set in and Jilin Tongtian Automobile Co.’s factory site is now a pile of rubble.
Tongtian has stopped producing cars after struggling to compete. Near the site, in a province bordering North Korea, dust-covered metal cabinets are among the few traces the company ever existed. It kept its auto-maker license though, which are limited and therefore valuable in the world’s biggest vehicle market.