15/08/2026
Hello
My Honest Opinion on Chinese Cars
A lot of people ask me about Haval tank, Jaecoo J7, Deepal S05 and other new Chinese vehicles so I want to share one thing which in my opinion even many manufacturers may not think about deeply enough the ecosystem of a vehicle.
A proper automotive ecosystem does’nt develop in 2, 4 or even 5 years. Look at toyota Japan’s automotive ecosystem has taken 40/50 years to reach this level. Toyota has a strong presence across almost every major market USA, Canada, Australia, New Zeland, South Africa, Malaysia, Japan, the UK, Europe, Dubai and the wider Gulf region, Kenya and many other countries. Because of this massive global ecosystem parts are available everywhere used parts have value, workshops understand the cars, and even decades old vehicles can still be maintained.
Look at Toyota engines. A properly maintained Toyota engine can run 5–10 lakh kilometres and still have years of life left. We see Kabuli Toyota engines that have already done 4–5 lakh kilometres, yet after coming to Pakistan they can still perform extremely well. That is the result of engineering, reliability and parts durability.
The real question is: where will the parts come from 10/15 years from now?
For example look at the Toyota LC300. There are huge numbers of Toyota vehicles running around the world, with massive production and markets across different countries. After years, vehicles are dismantled, parts are recovered, exported and reused. That is how a real parts ecosystem is created.
Now take a vehicle like the Haval Tank. Even if for the sake of argument we assume that its quality is good and its ecosystem develops over the next 10/15 years there is still one fundamental question will its parts actually survive long enough to enter that ecosystem?
Because a parts ecosystem is a chain. The vehicle has to survive the parts have to survive and then those parts eventually come into the used parts market.
If a part itself has a short practical life, it may never reach that stage. By the time these vehicles start getting dismantled in large numbers many of their components may already be finished.
That is why I keep giving the example of the LC300 dashboard. You can find one in Pakistan’s used parts market for around PKR 5 lakh. But imagine a Haval Tank 10/15 years from now with its market value potentially around PKR 1.2/1.4 crore or even lower. If you need its dashboard where exactly will that dashboard come from? And even if one is available from the company, who is going to spend PKR 20/30 lakh on a dashboard for a vehicle worth PKR 1.2/1.4 crore?
This is the difference between simply having a car in the market and having a proper automotive ecosystem.
That’s why, in my opinion, we should not judge these new brands only by today’s features and technology. The real test is whether their cars, engines and parts will still have life and value 10, 15 or 20 years from now.
Now even if we assume that a Chinese brand manages to build a proper ecosystem in the next 10/15 years, there is still another question what about the quality and durability of the parts? In my personal opinion they still have a long way to prove the kind of longterm durability we have seen from Japanese, German and Korean manufacturers.
Korean cars are actually moving in the right direction. Brands like Hyundai and Kia have in my opinion already developed around 50–60% of a proper ecosystem and I believe this will become even stronger over the next 5 years.
And look at depreciation. A Fortuner GRS with an invoice around pkr 2.24 crore can still sell around pkr 2.15 / 2.20 crore despite this generation being in the market for around 10/11 years. That tells you something about an established ecosystem and market confidence.
Now compare that with the Haval Tank. It hasn’t even been in the market for two months and we have already seen a significant drop from its launch price. In my view this depreciation can become even more aggressive and we could eventually see these vehicles Pkr 30–35 lakh lower than their original levels.
My prediction is also that over the next 4–5 years you could see JAECOO J7 and Deepal S05 around the PKR 55–60 lakh range. These are my personal market predictions, not guarantees.
And I want to clarify one thing I am not saying Chinese cars have no benefit. In fact they have done one very important thing for Pakistan they have put serious pressure on the prices of established brands. Without this competition, cars like Grande and Fortuner could have become much more expensive.
But my concern is that when a new vehicle is launched, some reviewers and famous automotive platforms start promoting it very aggressively even before the market has had enough time to understand its long-term value. The real test of a car is not the first few months. The real test is what happens after 5, 10, 15 and 20 years.
So before booking a new Chinese vehicle, don’t only look at features technology fuel economy or launch hype.
Look at the ecosystem. Look at the parts. Look at the quality. Look at durability. And most importantly look at the resale value 10/ 20 years from now.
That is where the real difference becomes visible.
Regards
Team Victory Cars Lahore.
