Driving the Dragon
Regular price
€25.99
Shortlisted for the Motoring Book of the Year Awards 2025 Category: Best Debut Author (Graham Robson Trophy)
China is now at the forefront of electric vehicle adoption and a wave of Chinese manufactured cars is now hitting Europe and the West. As the world's largest car producer since 2008, China's automotive industry deserves a closer look.
Driving the Dragon explores the history of Chinese car manufacture, looking at some of the important cars on that journey, the false starts and missed opportunities. The story begins with the Rover 75 and how it played a key role in moving the Chinese car industry forward. It concludes with a look at cars from the likes of BYD, Zeekr and Nio, which are becoming mainstream in the UK and Europe as some of the most competitive electric vehicles on the market, not just in terms of price but also performance and desirability.
For many people China is still a very enigmatic country, not helped by recent political events. While the book focuses on the automotive industry it also looks at the country itself and examines the culture surrounding the industry.
The author spent 30 years in China, teaching, test driving and reviewing Chinese cars, and writing, while witnessing first-hand the extraordinary growth of the Chinese car industry.
Mark Andrews was born in the UK, but has spent most of his adult life in Asia, living in Japan, South Korea and, most recently, China before returning to his West Country roots. He originally travelled to Asia to teach English, he has also taught at various universities, and from 2000 became a freelance writer. Initially concentrating on travel, from 2007 he also started testing and reviewing Chinese cars. His articles about this topic, amongst others, have appeared in magazines and newspapers around the world.
Mark has a degree in Business Studies and a master’s in Media Assisted Language Teaching. In addition to writing he is a keen photographer with pictures published internationally.