Source: CCTV.com

04-21-2008 11:47

The media got a sneak peek at what's due at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition on Sunday. Industry insiders at the biannual auto show are expecting 2008 to be another year of double-digit sales growth, despite slowdowns in markets elsewhere.

Industry insiders at the biannual auto show are expecting  2008 to be another year of double-digit sales growth, despite slowdowns in markets elsewhere.

With demand slowing in major US, Japanese and European markets, global brands are looking to China, where the auto market has grown by 20 to 30 percent over the past 5 years. Volkswagen, General Motors and Ford are increasingly relying on the world's number 2 car market to take up the slack.

John Parker, Executive Vice President of Ford Motor said "I think it's interesting from that perspective that there is strong growth in luxury products but also strong growth in affordable products as well as the middle range so that provides a lot of opportunities for all the different manufacturers to improve their business."

Chinese car manufacturers inched their way into higher-end cars at the auto show. Chery has the A3 car -- priced at 13,700 US dollars, more than double what its mainstay QQ sells for. And Geely is showcasing its first sports utility vehicle, in a departure from its best-known entry-level cars.

By moving up the price range, local brands are hoping for a bigger piece of the China market.

Frank Zhao, Vice President of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group said "I'm very positive, you know. It's going to be double digits, that's for sure. Whether it's 19 percent or 27 percent, it's really hard to say. Why? Because the Chinese market is different from other markets. Because the average income of the majority of people is very similar, it tells you that when one guy is ready to buy a car, then almost 1.2 billion people are ready to buy a car. That's really something quite different from other markets."

Industry insiders at the biannual auto show are expecting  2008 to be another year of double-digit sales growth, despite slowdowns in markets elsewhere.

In this market, demand for luxury brands is strong. Top-end car makers, like Germany's BMW and Daimler's Mercedes, are eyeing China to boost their global sales. BMW's China venture, Brilliance Auto, plans to nearly triple capacity in the next four years.

Ian Robertson, Board Member of BMW said "We are doing exceptionally well. If you look at the sales in 2007 they were about 43 percent up on the previous year. If you look at the first quarter of 2008 we are already 40 percent up on 2007. So I think that we can be confident that as the year progresses we will see at least a good double digit growth during the rest of this year."

After reaching nearly 8.8 million vehicles last year, the Chinese auto market is forecast to grow to 10 million units this year. At this rate, it's on track to overtake the US as the largest market for cars and trucks. And the competition is revving up to take advantage of that.