New laws are killing Chinese cars

The $9,990 Chery J1 was the cheapest car on the Australian market.

New safety rules effective today mark the end of Chinese city car Chery J1 и SUV Great Wall X240.

The new laws require all new cars sold to have a stability control system—neither of those two features. The Chery J1 has been slow to sell this year due to stiff competition from major brands that have reduced their price from $11,000 to $9,990 to $744. However, even with the price drop this year, only 969 vehicles were sold by the end of September – up from XNUMX at the same time last year.

The $23,990 Great Wall X240 SUV fared even worse in sales, up 340 year-to-date from 849 this time last year.

Other vehicles affected by the new laws include Jimmy Sierra's Suzuki, however, some vehicles that do not have a stability control system, including Toyota 70th series LandCruiser и Photos Thunland are classified as commercial vehicles and are therefore not subject to the regulation.

This reporter on Twitter: @KarlaPincott