China 'not ready' to export cars to US: GM executive

DETROIT, Michigan, Jan 9 (AFP) - A top General Motors executive said Sunday that Chinese-made cars are not ready for the US market, dismissing a recently announced venture to import vehicles from China.
"I don't think China is ready to export." GM chief financial officer John Devine said in an interview at the North American International Auto Show.
"When does China export vehicles? I'd probably say down the line, but it's very difficult to pinpoint when and how. There are still a lot of things that have to be done to make those vehicles as competitive as they have to be, certainly on the cost side. I'm not going to say it's not possible to export vehicles from China. It might happen some time, but I think it's too early."
Devine shrugged off the announcement last week of a deal involving Visionary Vehicles LLC, a New York-based firm and China's Chery Automobile Company to sell a new line of automobiles in the US market.
"It's a lot easier to announce those projects than to deliver them," he said.
Devine said GM is more focused on producing cars for the rapidly growing Chinese market after selling nearly 500,000 cars last year.
"We're quite aware of where we are in China and our focus is on making sure our product lineup and our brand lineup is expanded," he said.
"Our focus at GM is providing the local market because of the growth."

01/09/2005 20:09 GMT - AFP