I'm old enough to have been around this bush twice already.
In the 70s your argument was made against emerging Japanese makers. Unknowns like Toyota, Datsun (now Nissan), Honda etc.
Then in the 90s it was Koreans entering the market. Daihatsu, Hyundai, Kia etc.
Now it's the Chinese brands arriving as well. The incumbents will talk about "quality" all day long, but in truth European quality was always a bit of a myth (British Leyland anyone?) And the heyday of BMW or Mercedes quality is long gone.
The gold standard for quality today? Probably Toyota or Honda.
So yeah, laugh off the Chinese options as low-quality.
In the 70s your argument was made against emerging Japanese makers. Unknowns like Toyota, Datsun (now Nissan), Honda etc.
Then in the 90s it was Koreans entering the market. Daihatsu, Hyundai, Kia etc.
Now it's the Chinese brands arriving as well. The incumbents will talk about "quality" all day long, but in truth European quality was always a bit of a myth (British Leyland anyone?) And the heyday of BMW or Mercedes quality is long gone.
The gold standard for quality today? Probably Toyota or Honda.
So yeah, laugh off the Chinese options as low-quality.