A corporate executive said that the company has made improvements on the standard Santana model, including the front and rear bumpers and the seats and interior. The new car is more comfortable and more attractive.

The relaunched standard Santanas will be sold at a lower price than similar Chinese automobile brands such as Jetta, made by the FAW Volkswagen in northeast China's Jilin Province, and the Fukang,produced by the Dongfeng Automotive Corporation in central China.

However, it will be the Santana's superior safety record and better after-sale maintenance warrantee that ensure it a larger market share, said the corporate executive.

The standard Santana, priced between 103,900 (about 12,500 US dollars) and 124,000 yuan (14,900 US dollars), has been on the market for an impressive 17 consecutive years in China. The price of the relaunched car will remain roughly the same.

The executive predicted that the company will make and sell 360,000 cars this year, including 90,000 relaunched Santanas. Some 90,000 Santanas were sold last year.

The Santana was the first sedan produced in China by this Sino-German joint venture and was also the first overseas model introduced by the Chinese auto industry. Market population of the standard Santana has exceeded one million.

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2003)