In a surprisingly frank statement reported on The Auto Channel, Bricklin said that “The crux of our decision came from the realization that the Chinese need to learn that you can not develop cars for the Chinese domestic market and then upgrade them for the North American Market. You must instead, build for the North American market and then de-option for other markets, never having two standards for quality since great quality is the only option.”
He went on to say that "Chinese manufacturers have continued to mature and as they have done so, we realized that there was great value in capitalizing on the strengths each had to offer. As we have learned, our success is dependant on Visionary Vehicles being responsible for all aspects of design, engineering and safety and emission regulations while developing manufacturer relationships to support those goals. We are in discussions with great companies who are willing and able to build a factory to manufacture cars designed and engineered to our vision and specifications.”
Despite the setback, we think it’s a good move. If the first cars from China are extremely poor quality consumer perception may be damaged more so than simply waiting to develop a truly good product. We’ll have to wait till the new year to learn what Visionary Vehicles has planned.