GAC picked the Chinese name Trumpchi
in 2010, well before Trump was
elected. The similarity to Trump is
just a coincidence, We want to not
be closely linked with politics,”
Wang Qiujing, president of GAC
Engineering Institute China, said
through an interpreter in an
interview at the Detroit auto
show.Wang added. GAC will continue
to use Trumpchi in China, where the
word means legend and good fortune.
(Photo by HB Meeks/Tell Us USA News
Network)
For the
past
eight
years,
GAC has
sold
cars and
SUVs
under
the
brand
Trumpchi
in its
home
market
before
the
company’s
expected
U.S.
debut in
the
fourth
quarter
of 2019.
We want
to not
be
closely
linked
with
politics,”
Wang
Qiujing,
president
of GAC
Engineering
Institute
China,
said
through
an
interpreter
in an
interview
at the
Detroit
auto
show.
“This is
the
reason
we want
to
rename
the
brand.”
(AP
Photo/Carlos
Osorio)
China’s
GAC to
scrap
Trump-sounding
brand
for US
market By
TOM
KRISHER
APNews.com
DETROIT
-
Chinese
automaker
GAC
Motor
will
scrap
the
brand
name it
uses in
China
when it
enters
the U.S.
market
next
year
because
it could
be
confused
with
President
Donald
Trump’s
surname.
For
the past
eight
years,
GAC has
sold
cars and
SUVs
under
the
brand
Trumpchi
in its
home
market,
but is
now
researching
new
names
before
the
company’s
expected
U.S.
debut in
the
fourth
quarter
of 2019.
“We
want to
provide
the best
service
for
American
customers,
so we
want to
not be
closely
linked
with
politics,”
Wang
Qiujing,
president
of GAC
Engineering
Institute
China,
said
through
an
interpreter
in an
interview
at the
Detroit
auto
show.
“This is
the
reason
we want
to
rename
the
brand.”
GAC
picked
the
Chinese
name
Trumpchi
in 2010,
well
before
Trump
was
elected.
The
similarity
to Trump
is just
a
coincidence,
Wang
added.
GAC will
continue
to use
Trumpchi
in
China,
where
the word
means
legend
and good
fortune.
GAC’s
first
vehicle
in the
U.S.
will be
the GS8,
a
loaded-out
full-size
SUV that
will
cost
about
$35,000.
Two more
vehicles
are
being
researched
for U.S.
sales,
but have
not been
selected
yet.
The
company
showed
seven
different
of its
models
on a
video
and
unveiled
two more
at the
Detroit
show.
One is a
gull-wing
compact
electric
SUV
called
the
Enverge,
which is
still in
the
concept
phase.
The
automaker
says it
will go
over 370
miles on
a single
charge.
Also
unveiled
was the
GA4
midsize
sedan
that
will go
on sale
in China
later
this
month.
The
GS8
would be
comparable
to a big
luxury
SUV,
many of
which go
for more
than
$60,000.
Wang
said he
didn’t
know
what the
brand’s
lowest-price
vehicle
would be
in the
U.S.
GAC
sold
just
over
500,000
automobiles
in China
last
year, up
37
percent
from
2016.
The
company
says it
is
negotiating
with
partner
Fiat
Chrysler
about
possible
distribution
of
vehicles.
Wang
said GAC
is the
top-ranked
domestic
brand
for
initial
quality
in China
in
J.D.Power
and
Associates
surveys,
and it
ranks
fourth
or fifth
when
joint
ventures
with
foreign
automakers
are
included.
He says
the
company’s
vehicle
quality
will be
ready
for U.S.
buyers,
and it
will
work
with
U.S.
partners
to meet
stricter
U.S.
safety
standards.
Chinese
automakers
are
advanced
and have
expertise
in mass
production
but the
American
market
may not
be ready
yet to
accept
GAC,
said
Jake
Fisher,
Consumer
Reports’
director
of auto
testing.
Other
Chinese
companies
showed
vehicles
at the
CES
gadget
show in
Las
Vegas
last
week
such as
Byton,
which
unveiled
an
electric
prototype
that’s
like a
Tesla
Model X
SUV but
costs
thousands
less,
Fisher
said.
“There
will be
Chinese
automakers
at the
top of
the
market
and at
the
bottom
of the
market,
and it
will be
very
interesting
to see
how they
are
received,”
he said.
GAC
already
has a
research
center
in
Silicon
Valley
and is
working
on
another
one in
Detroit,
as well
as a Los
Angeles
design
center.
Initially
it will
import
vehicles
from
China
but
depending
on
sales,
plans to
build a
factory
in the
U.S.
GAC,
which
stands
for
Guangzhou
Automobile
Group
Co.,
also
plans to
enter
other
global
markets
after
the
U.S.,
including
Europe.