He wasn’t exactly Paul Rivere on a mythical midnight run, warning of a British invasion, but Flavio Volpe was in Washington, DC, this week to deliver a warning of his own: The Chinese are coming — for the North American auto industry. According to the president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA), politicians aren’t doing enough to keep them at bay and preserve the domestic auto sector.
Volpe is concerned about “an assertive series of strategic moves by Chinese state-owned and controlled interests within the North American automotive market through Mexico that threaten to displace market-driven industry players.” Volpe called it a “displacement strategy by Chinese manufacturers, leveraging state ownership and control to gain significant leverage within North America over regional investors,” including some of the automotive suppliers he represents. CANADA, U.