Michael Dunne on China’s Auto Expansion and Pressure on Global OEMs

Chinese automakers and their potential entry into the U.S. market take center stage as global competition, tariffs, and shifting trade dynamics reshape the automotive landscape. Michael Dunne, CEO of Dunne Insights, joins Inside Automotive to break down why he believes direct Chinese auto sales in the U.S. are increasingly likely within the next three years.

Michael Dunne outlines how Chinese automakers have rapidly scaled exports from roughly 1 million vehicles to around 10 million annually, now accounting for more than one-third of global production. While U.S. tariffs and regulatory barriers remain significant, indirect market entry and lobbying efforts continue to build momentum.

Key discussion points include:

•  Rapid expansion of Chinese vehicle exports and global market share 
•  Likelihood and timing of direct U.S. market entry 
•  Tariffs, regulatory barriers, and political resistance 
•  Indirect entry strategies through North American channels 
•  Competitive pressure from pricing, design, and technology 
•  Dealer readiness and franchise implications 
•  Multi-powertrain strategies (ICE, hybrid, EV) driving expansion 

Dunne also highlights how affordability, technology integration, and manufacturing scale are reshaping global competition and positioning Chinese automakers as a growing force in the industry.

Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick is powered by CBT News, your go-to source for the latest news, trends, and insights in retail automotive. Subscribe for more interviews with top industry leaders, dealership innovators, and experts shaping the future of automotive.

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Transcript

Welcome Back And Why It Blew Up

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Welcome to Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick.

Jim Fitzpatrick 0:11

When Michael Dunn last joined us, the conversation sparked a lot of reaction from social media, particularly around the future of Chinese automakers and how quickly they could make their way into the U.S. markets. So joining us once again is Michael Dunn, the one and only man of the hour here, CEO of Dunn Insights, host of Driving with Dunn Podcast. If you haven't tuned in yet, you have to make sure you check that podcast out. He's an entrepreneur, author, keynote speaker, and thought leader on this very issue of all things Chinese and automotive. So, Michael, thank you so much for taking the time out of what I would imagine is a very busy schedule. Everybody's so concerned about Chinese auto uh uh autos coming to the US and they're turning to you to say, okay, you're the expert in this field. Uh and uh as I mentioned, the last time you were on, uh 17 million views your uh video clip got, and it sparked over 600,000 comments. So yeah, you you started a firestorm out there. And uh so we want to pick up on that. What we did was we took some of the comments and the questions that were uh posted on our social media, and I want to throw it some of those at you today, if that's okay.

China’s Export Boom By The Numbers

SPEAKER_01 1:20

Absolutely. I just want to add on there. I I'm I'm out to set the Guinness Book of World Records for Passport stamps this year. It's a and miles recorded in the air. It's just been phenomenal, the interest worldwide in what's happening with this Chinese tsunami of products coming into so many markets, except the United States.

Jim Fitzpatrick 1:42

Yeah, well, you know what? Before I get into the questions, kind of give us uh an update on that. Where does it stand since we spoke last Canada did fall to the Chinese, and uh now they're allowing some 49,000 vehicles in, I guess. But uh give give us an update on that.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

So if we look at a map of the world from outer space and we look at every country, Chinese cars. I'm looking for a country where Chinese cars are not being sold today. And right now there's only one country left where they're not being sold. That's here the great old United States of America. Right. So uh they're making the the inroads. How big? They're selling, they're exporting one million cars a year five years ago. This year, 10 million. Wow, as a in total, they they're already producing more than one-third of cars to globally. That could go to a half within a few years. Oh my god. So it it's it's unlike anything we've ever seen before. Forget about imports from Japan or Korea. Trust me when I tell you, this is a completely different magnitude and risk to industry here in the West.

Jim Fitzpatrick 2:47

Yeah, yeah. Boy, that's that is uh those numbers are very, very impressive and scary at the same time. Um, so what let me ask you this. How do the other countries, you know, we're very protective here, obviously, of our uh our car companies and our market. Um, is that not the case around the world? Is our is Europe and and Asia and all the other areas, they're not as concerned about this?

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Think two categories for markets like Australia, uh Singapore, say for example, Israel as recently that South Africa, countries that don't have an indigenous auto industry, they're saying bring up, bring them quickly, and this is great for the consumer because we get higher value, lower cost. On the other hand, you have countries in Europe, um, you have countries in Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, where they've been building their own local industries for decades, yeah, and they're getting decimated. So at first they said, let's let the Chinese come in because it'll be good for competition. But in Mexico, 20% of new cars now are from China. So the local government is saying, Whoa, this is too much. We're losing industry. Right. So it's a little bit of signs of a backlash, but overall, the Chinese momentum has been unbelievable. Yeah. And the Chinese are shipping them cars, arriving at ports. Where they'll find a customer. What price do you need? We just need to move these cars out of China and into your backyard. That's what we're seeing. Wow.

Jim Fitzpatrick 4:18

And you know, again, the car is, and Jim Frawley will tell you, the cars are amazing, right? The technology, the styling, uh the reliability of these cars is really a 10 out of 10, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Absolutely. As just in Indonesia a few weeks ago, it was forever a Japanese stronghold, 90% market share for the Japanese. Now you're seeing Chinese cars everywhere. And I talked to my friends there, and they said, Well, you look at the car, you have to say it's damn good quality at a very affordable price. So it's almost like, well, it's happening.

How Countries React When China Arrives

Jim Fitzpatrick 4:52

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Um, Senator Bernie Moreno spoke at a dinner that uh I was uh that I attended in New York a couple of weeks back, and he said that they're going to hermetically seal, quote unquote, uh the U.S. auto industry to prevent um Chinese cars from from coming over. What are your thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_01 5:14

First thought is I do believe the United States government will not allow imports of Chinese cars. Okay. The tariffs are at 100%, plus there's some some regulation around hardware and software. No, Chinese car imports not welcome here. On the other hand, I don't know if it's hermetically sealed, includes places like here in San Diego where we're seeing Chinese cars leak across the border. My daughter just sent me a picture the other day. Dad, is this another Chinese car? Yeah, she was arriving at school in downtown San Diego. There's an MG, there's a BYD. What's going on? Wealthy people living in Mexico. That's their daily driver. They they drop off their daughter at the uh at the school and then drive back across the border. That's not uncommon. Here, Phoenix, uh, El Paso. And then with the Chinese cars now coming into Canada, my hometown, Detroit, across the bridge into Windsor, it looks inevitable that they're going to find a way around, like water finding its way into this market.

Jim Fitzpatrick 6:14

Yeah. Um, the last time we were on, and I think what's what spurred so much of the uh response that we got was I said to you then, you know, you're you're down in uh San Diego there, and uh and I said, Can you just go over to Mexico, buy a BYD, bring it over as your vehicle? And you were like, Yeah, pretty much. Um, and of course, that spurred a whole bunch of people that said, No, you can't. You got to go through this, you got to go through that, you got to pay this. Where does that stand? Can a consumer, uh an American consumer, go over to Mexico, buy a BYD, and drive it?

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Absolutely. Now, there are limitations. You can buy, register the car in Mexico, Tijuana. It's a mile over the border. You can buy a BYD.

Jim Fitzpatrick 6:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

Own it, and then that becomes your daily driver. You cannot yet, you cannot register it in the United States. Okay. That's the cash.

Jim Fitzpatrick 7:02

Okay.

Can Chinese Cars Slip Into America

SPEAKER_01 7:03

So uh there will be homologation issues, there will be compliance with rules around hardware and software. But if the question is, are Chinese cars coming across the border and driving around here? Yes, they are. Yeah. And our are Mexican and Americans who live here and keep a place in Tijuana, are they buying cars there? Yes, they are. Right. Driving them across, yes, they are. Now at certain point, people it's gonna draw attention and people are gonna try to hermetically seal that border. But uh, you know, it just feels like inevitably they're gonna find a way to get in.

Jim Fitzpatrick 7:40

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Um, the the experts anticipate, and you're one of them, I guess, but uh that Chinese OEMs are three to five years out before they enter the U.S. market. Is that a timeline that's accurate from your perspective?

SPEAKER_01 7:55

Five years would be long.

unknown 7:56

Really.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

I think three years more realistic. They are really hungry to access the U.S. market because, Jim, at home, they're all going broke. They can't make money at home. Vicious price wars at home. They're saying in order to survive, it's like oxygen, we need global markets, and there's no more lucrative place in the world than here in the U.S. So they're really pushing hard to get in here, both at the government level with lobbying. You know, remember TikTok was banned?

Jim Fitzpatrick 8:25

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:26

No, no, tick, no, sorry, no bit. Now, wait a second. We found uh some kind of agreement where TikTok's not banned. And it's here. Right. So the the Chinese look at that as a precedent and think, well, we can we can work this with it there is a way, right?

Jim Fitzpatrick 8:42

There is a way. That's right. And as much as Trump, you know, will come out and say, Oh, then that's not gonna happen and we're against it, we're gonna do this. It could be the next tweet that he you know puts out there on Truth Social that goes, we came to an agreement with China, they're gonna, you know, they're gonna build a factory here and we're gonna sell their cars, right?

SPEAKER_01 9:00

A grand deal, the grandest deal ever, the best, optimated the best, the best. And uh in Detroit in January, he did say, let them come in. We think maybe let them come in. It's the first time I heard him say that. Wow. If they're gonna manufacture and create jobs, maybe we let them come in. So don't be surprised if after the midterms we see some action. Now one thing you can count on the Chinese are paying lobbyists in Washington, DC today as we speak to push that agenda. Yes.

Jim Fitzpatrick 9:33

Is this is this a is this an issue that um is bipartisan? Is it are the are the Dems more for something like this than the Republicans? Or the Republicans more for, I mean, it it's because Republicans are so pro-business, pro-free market, you know, what have you? But what where did all right or maybe you maybe you don't know? Is it does it fall along party lines or or what?

Three Years Out And The Lobbying Push

SPEAKER_01 9:54

When I'm in DC these days, it's consistent across parties. Having the Chinese come in is probably not a good idea for American industry, in particular for Detroit and the unions. Yeah, yeah. So that's consistent across party lines. The the risk factor is that somebody close to President Trump or President Trump himself goes, I just feel like doing a deal. I'm going to China, I'm going to meet Xi Jinping. I need let's or let's say, okay, let's BYD. Let's bring them in in the JV.

Jim Fitzpatrick 10:25

Especially if they're gonna hire 20,000 workers at a huge plant in South Carolina or Georgia or something like that, right? Yes.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

And you know, then you have the state, you're absolutely right, Jim. Then you have the state governor in the photo, too, going jobs.

Jim Fitzpatrick 10:40

Yeah, more jobs. That's right. So Jim Farley has called um Xiaomi. Did I get that right? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

Perfectly fluent. Xiaomi, perfect.

Jim Fitzpatrick 10:52

That's right. Coming from you, that's pretty good. One of the most serious threats in the auto industry, a phone company launches a car and it sells out. What does that tell us about where the real competition is coming from?

SPEAKER_01 11:04

Xiaomi came out of nowhere, in a sense, just two years ago launched this car called the SU7, sold out months and before this production even started. Yeah, it's a formidable car. It set the record at Nurberg Ring in Germany for the fastest lap of any car in the world. What is going on? If you see pictures of it, it's a cross between a Porsche and a Tesla.

Jim Fitzpatrick 11:27

Yeah. They're showing pictures right now. Yep.

unknown 11:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:30

Phenomenal car. And then they come to the price point at$32,000. You say, My goodness, how can we possibly compete? Right. So it is a worry for Jim Farley and Ford. They look around, they look at the cost structure and say, it's like a meteor comes coming at us. Yeah.

Jim Fitzpatrick 11:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

Uh it ain't it ain't turning around. Yeah. What how do we how do we manage this thing?

Jim Fitzpatrick 11:54

That's right. That's right. Now, uh, I was in the car business in the very early 80s. And uh, you know, we heard a lot of this about Toyota when it came in. Obviously, that they came in in the in the mid-60s into the US market, and people were, you know, car companies were freaking out then. I mean, you had the the domestics that were saying, you know, what are we? We're letting Nissan and Toyota in and Subaru and what have you. What's going on? You know, this is a threat to our market. Now, to your point, the Japanese is much different to deal with than the Chinese. Um, however, you know, we put limitations on the number of vehicles that were coming in then. We didn't have factories, Toyota factories or Nissan factories or Subaru factories here in the U.S. A lot has changed over the course of the last 45 years in that regard. But is that, do you think that that's something that we will see just kind of a slow, hey, we're gonna let, you know, 25,000 cars in, 50,000, whatever the number is, build factories. You know, we're gonna put a tariff on on these cars, and then that will be the natural evolution.

Xiaomi’s Wake Up Call For Ford

SPEAKER_01 12:55

That would be an optimistic scenario, Jim. I feel as though, you know, the United States let's gradually let them in. Maybe they'll help make us more competitive. But a more likely scenario is that the state of California or the state of Arizona or Alabama goes, boy, we got them in. And then other state goes, Well, we want them in too. How come they can have them in and we're dead? And suddenly a trickle turns into a deluge, and the Chinese go, see, you guys love us. And before we know it, they're really if if Japan was a 1x shock to our industry, China will be a 50x shock. Wow. It's just been dismantling industry after industry. Ask the Europeans, yeah, going in there and they have no answer. High quality, at speed, low cost. We're competing not with individual companies, but with China Inc., right. And and another thing, just to just to double underline it for anybody out there wondering, Japan and Korea manage that those sales because they know how valuable the market is to them. And they say, well, we're allies and we want to get along, and we're not trying to take over anything. We just like to have a nice business in America. China's not thinking that way. Are they our ally, our close friend? No, they're our competitor. Right. Saying if we can possibly own this industry, we're going to do it.

Jim Fitzpatrick 14:18

Right, right. Yeah, they're they're out for blood, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:21

Yes, they have an expression in Chinese win-win means China wins twice.

Jim Fitzpatrick 14:26

Okay. They're serious. Okay. And again, it, you know, you mentioned you know, these things might make us more competitive. We did see that with the Japanese cars. We got all of a sudden the domestics, you know, really stood up and paid attention to this. He's, oh, we got better GM vehicles, better Chrysler vehicles at the time Chrysler, better, you know, uh Ford vehicles for you know, qualities job one. I mean, all of a sudden they went, wait a second, we you know, we're we're missing the boat here. Because they were taking the market share that they had here for granted. They're like, we got this. It's you know, you're buying one of the one of the Detroit three, otherwise you're not buying a car, right? So maybe a little bit of this would be a good thing?

SPEAKER_01 15:06

Maybe a little, maybe quotas. If I'm in in charge, I'd say, okay, we're going to limit it to 5% of the market. Bring your product 5%. That's it. But even then, Jim, I'd like to believe that the American spirit of competitiveness and innovation, you mean to say with our allies in Japan and Korea who are no dummies, Germans, no dummies, we can't get our own act together and learn how to do this by ourselves. And the Chinese will not be generous. They're not going to come in here and say, hey, let us teach you everything we know. No, just the opposite. So let's not be, I think we've been overly naive with regards to our relationship with China overall. We we went in there in the 80s and 90s and transferred capital and know-how. And it was just like, oh, what do you else do you need here?

Jim Fitzpatrick 15:52

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:53

Let's learn the lesson. Let's be as the Chinese. When I ask my Chinese friends, I say, when you think of Americans, what's the first thing that come to mind? And they say, Oh, Tianjin means naive. So let's be less naive. Let's just try to be aware of what's going on.

Jim Fitzpatrick 16:09

Right, right. Let's not make that same mistake more than once if we can help it, right?

SPEAKER_01 16:14

Yes. Let's not make the same mistake. We we already did that.

Jim Fitzpatrick 16:17

Right, right. We already saw this movie. Hey, EV sales in the U.S. have stalled. Some blame charging infrastructure, some blame consumer trust. Uh, some say the demand was never really there. Uh, which one is actually the real problem? And does the answer, you know, change what dealers should be doing right now?

Why EVs Stall In The U.S.

SPEAKER_01 16:37

Having uh traveled around the world so much recently, Jim, I just like to share this message with American consumers. Is in the rest of the world, uh EVs are an alternative technology for city commuters, it makes sense for some people in some countries, a lot of people now, 20 million consumers last year, up from just a few million a few years ago. Yeah. So there's nothing there. Unfortunately, here in the United States, EVs tend to be a kind of a signal. Oh, you bought an EV, you are this kind of a person.

Jim Fitzpatrick 17:08

Right.

SPEAKER_01 17:09

You are a tree hugger or a pandog or whatever it is.

Jim Fitzpatrick 17:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

Um let's move beyond that. Let's just look at EVs as an alternative choice that makes sense. Maybe 20% of the total market, not all cars. For some reason in the United States, we have this block that says EV good or EV bad. Right. And it's really holding us back as a nation. So I'd like to encourage us if we look at the behavior of consumers everywhere else in the world, the trend is toward EVs.

Jim Fitzpatrick 17:38

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 17:40

We're we're we're sort of stuck in uh no, let's go, let's turn around and go back to ISEN. Let's open our mind. Yeah, ICEN don't have to go away right away. We can do hybrids too. Yeah, but EVs are definitely a good technology for certain applications. And that's that's where we get to. We shouldn't be at 5%. We should be uh 15, 20 percent.

Jim Fitzpatrick 18:01

Yeah. Yeah, for sure, for sure. Hey, what do you think about Jim Farley driving one of these uh Chinese vehicles? When asked, he said, I gotta figure out what they're doing. I gotta, I'm driving the competition here, basically. But uh he he's right out with it that that he's got one of these vehicles, these Chinese vehicles.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

Yes, as a uh so I admire the fact that he goes and studies the competition and he's not hiding. Right. Uh on the other hand, as a leader of Ford Border Cup, I love him to say, damn good car from Xiaomi, we can do better. And here's how we're gonna do it. Yeah, just get to that, just inspire the troops to say, let's not capitulate. Yes, it is better. So we're the underdog. What do we need to do to compete?

Jim Fitzpatrick 18:44

Right. That's right. That's right. Yeah, he he he sounds like their spokesperson, actually, because he, you know, he comes over and it's like their technology's great and their quality is great, and it's unbelievable drive. And it's like, dude, back up a minute here. You're the you know, you're the CEO of Ford.

SPEAKER_01 19:00

You're our guy, you're the guy. Save this company. So, yes, totally. I think he said I've never been so humbled in my life. Okay, humbled, good, you got it. Well, now let's go. Let's go get to work.

Jim Fitzpatrick 19:10

That's right. That's right. Um, if Chinese automakers uh find their way into the US market, um, not every brand survives. I mean, walk walk us through that.

Who Loses If China Enters

SPEAKER_01 19:22

We look at what's happened in China, Jim, Honda sales down 50%, Hyundai down 80%. Ouch. Uh GM 60%, Ford 70%. Everyone across the Porsche down 30, 40 percent, Mercedes under pressure. So uh the latest data out of China, and that's a great sort of canary in the coal mine. Yeah, Toyota is the only global automaker to sort of be holding its own, just staying even, not losing, losing like crazy. Everyone else is under pressure. So if we come back to the United States, NISAP would be a worry.

Jim Fitzpatrick 20:00

Oh yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

Stellantis brands would be a worry. Yeah, Honda under pressure like I've never seen before. Yeah.

Jim Fitzpatrick 20:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

Ford and GM, they've already gotten out of cars. Will they be able to hold on to trucks and SUVs? I mean, everybody's vulnerable.

Jim Fitzpatrick 20:16

Yeah, they really are. There's no question. And and you know, you know, consumers that American consumers that they're like, yeah, that's nice. It's it's an industry that might go bye-bye, and we got we got you know a million factory workers and we got good good paying jobs, but uh hey, I'm able to get a cheaper car, a good quality, cheaper car. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 20:37

Absolutely. I just reading a quote from Warren Buffett earlier today where he says a little bit like the farmer who keeps selling off his land in order to sustain certain standards of living. So we think, oh, we'll just buy the cheaper car. But meanwhile, our industry is going away. Guys, when our industry's not there anymore, where are the jobs? Where's the income? Where's the standard of living? Yeah, it'll go away. So let's let's be less naive and be considerate when we're buying these products from China. What's their end game?

Jim Fitzpatrick 21:06

That's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 21:07

Uh-huh. And is it aligned with ours or not?

Jim Fitzpatrick 21:10

Yeah. And by the way, they infiltrate the market like they did around the world, and these other car manufacturers go bye-bye. Um, what's stopping them from saying, oh, by the way, uh price increase on ours, okay? Now that we've got you all, you know, we got our competition uh eliminated, there's gonna be a huge price increase, right?

SPEAKER_01 21:29

I mean, Jim, I'm so glad you're amplifying this message because it's it's real and where it's it's new territory for American consumers. They would absolutely do that, and they're doing it already in other industries where they're either manipulating the price or they're saying, Oh, you'd like to restart that industry, batteries. Well, we hope we happen to control all the inputs into that battery industry, and we may or may not sell them to you. Right. Right. Okay. So wow, so uh the it's real. It's big and it's um it's on our doorstep. So let's just when we go to think about the next car we buy, you buy anything you want. I I have it, I have a Tesla and a Ford pickup truck in my driveway. I don't care what anybody drives, but just be thoughtful about what the total costs are when we go to buy a car from China.

Jim Fitzpatrick 22:19

Do you have the Ford pickup truck to offset the fact that you're a tree hugger, or is that a that's the reality of living in California? Your neighbors are like, your neighbors are trying to figure out wait a minute, he could be a tree I' where where is this guy done?

SPEAKER_01 22:34

What's going on here?

Pickups Hybrids And The Dealer Dilemma

Jim Fitzpatrick 22:35

And you got the gun rack in the in the pickup jetter. We have to really throw him off, right? Well, Michael Dunn, we so appreciate all of your uh uh your information here to us. It's invaluable to the auto industry to keep us all abreast of what's going on. These numbers are staggering. It seems like every time I talk to you, they go up a million.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

You know, it's just that's how fast this thing goes from dealers in UK, they said the market share was nothing a few years ago, Jim. Nothing. It's 15% now. They said it's going to 30 in two years. Oh my god, 30 one-third of new cars in the UK, Chinese. So we if we open that door, um Deng Xiaoping had a great quote. This is China's leader from 30 years ago. He said, When you open the window, you'll have both fresh air and flies come in. Yep. He was referring to foreigners. So when we open the door, just for your bready.

Jim Fitzpatrick 23:31

But let me also let me let me just ask you this too. While I'm thinking about it, because America is in love with their ice vehicles and their their hemis and everything else and their pickup trucks, what it what where does where does the where does the Chinese manufacturers fit into that for those people that don't want to be a tree hugger? And because these are these are mostly all EV cars, right?

SPEAKER_01 23:52

Yeah. Well, that's the catch. They're across the board, Jim. They're bringing ice, they're bringing hybrids, PHEVs, EVs. Currently, this year, they'll export more ice vehicles than they will EVs.

Jim Fitzpatrick 24:06

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 24:06

So it's an industrial, like and if you've been to uh Mexico recently, they're selling the the the is flying out of the showrooms this uh mid-size pickup truck called the Shark, which goes right up against the Tacoma and the Ranger. It's a tremendous vehicle. Yeah, it comes with a PHEV. I also know other Chinese automakers are developing full-size SUVs and pickup trucks for the North American market. You want gasoline, we got that. You want PHEV, we've got that too. You want BY and what price did you want? I just name the price because they're coming. That's how uh confident they are.

Jim Fitzpatrick 24:43

Yeah, there's yeah, and with all you know, every every dealer that I talk to, I talk to dealers all over the country, as you know, every every day. And um, I asked the question if the Chinese came in, they they sell their cars to a franchise system, right? Would you buy, would you want to buy a franchise? Every single hand goes up. I I would buy one. So the dealers are, you know, they they say, yeah, they agree with your theory there of it's gonna hurt the market and this and that. Oh, would you buy a franchise? Yes, I would buy a franchise.

SPEAKER_01 25:10

The only question I have for them is what is the impact on their other existing brands?

Jim Fitzpatrick 25:16

Right.

SPEAKER_01 25:16

Net is it in their interest to do so?

Jim Fitzpatrick 25:19

Well, the one dealer said to me, Jim, I'd have to to keep my uh auto group running. He said, because if I if I don't do that, it I'm only gonna, you know, there's gonna be a lot more people out of work. He says, I've got to sell cars to the the cars that consumers want. If it happens to be Chinese, I gotta be a Chinese dealer.

SPEAKER_01 25:38

We have to think bigger than just the consumer. I I so Winston Churchill 1939, he says the Germans make the best cars in the world. Let's let's just buy German cars.

Jim Fitzpatrick 25:49

That's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 25:51

Okay, so I I I meet uh like you, I meet with dealers, and it's a real dilemma. It's genuinely a dilemma. What does a dealer do? He goes out and hunts the best product out there, best value for money, and wants to deliver it to his consumer.

Jim Fitzpatrick 26:04

Right.

SPEAKER_01 26:05

That's absolutely the right thing to do. This time around, there's a little bit of uh strings attached that we have to be aware of. And if we decide, well, hell, I can't control those strings, uh, I'm just selling cars. Okay, there's no problem. But just be aware of, don't later on go, oh wow, what happened there?

Jim Fitzpatrick 26:25

I didn't expect that. I didn't see that, I didn't see that coming.

SPEAKER_01 26:29

No idea. I had no idea.

Final Warnings And Wrap Up

Jim Fitzpatrick 26:31

That's right. That's right. That's exactly right. Michael Dunn, CEO of Dunn Insights, host of Driving with Dunn podcast, which I'm telling you, if you haven't tuned in, you're uh you're you can thank me later. You'll you'll love it. So uh Michael, thank you so much once again for joining us on CBT News. I know our dealer community gets a lot out of your visit. And uh, and so does so do consumers that that that somehow get our social media and then chime in. So thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 26:59

And it will be the next story because the Chinese are gonna start appearing on Canadian roads, and how do they come across the bridge or under the tunnel through the tunnel? Uh some of the car Chinese cars can actually swim in lakes now, so they might just just come across the area.

Jim Fitzpatrick 27:15

Jesus. Unbelievable. Unreal. That's just for that. I'm not getting Chinese food anymore. That's it. I'm not all right, Jim. All right, thanks so much. All right, you too.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

Thanks for watching Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick.