New York

FOR the past several years, China's central government has been building World Consumer Rights Day into something of a national holiday. Every year, the country's leaders focus the state-controlled media on consumer rip-offs and corruption alike, lambasting major firms and investigating high-ranking party officials. This year's crackdown again focused heavily on foreign carmakers operating in China, with CCTV accusing Volkswagen, Tata Motors, Daimler and Nissan of selling defective vehicles and overcharging consumers.

Global carmakers can hardly afford to protest this latest cost of doing business in the world's most important car market, but they also can't help noticing that China's leaders are increasingly using them as political pinatas. And with both national and factional agendas driving Beijing's heavy hand, the risks of selling cars in China seem to be growing as fast as the rewards.