China Consumers Eschew Domestic Brands as Foreigners Gain: Cars

Liu Yu said he was making a generous offer: a $1 million subsidy to entrepreneurs willing to build a dealership for BAIC Motor Corp.’s Beijing car brand. Though that covers about three-fourths of the cost of each outlet, the BAIC deputy sales chief has struggled to recruit the 150 candidates he wants by year-end, whereas BAIC’s parent company has no trouble finding dealers for its joint ventures with Daimler AG and Hyundai Motor Co., even without subsidies.

“China’s indigenous cars are the lowest in the food chain,” said Liu. “Many consumers are biased against them.”