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Carmakers hope for sustained growth in China
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After a turbo-charged year in 2009, car makers at the Guangzhou Auto Show are hoping China's stimulus measures continue to drive the market upward. They also acknowledge that environmentally-friendly cars are the future of China's auto industry.
China's auto market has been a rare bright spot in the global arena.
Its importance has grown beyond expectations. The government's stimulus package has led China to overtake the US and have the world's biggest car market this year.
Auto makers hope China will continue its growth that has increased the market by more than 40 percent in the year through October.
Jeffrey Shen, president & CEO of Chang'an Ford Mazda Aotomobile, said, "In every mature market there was actually a downturn, but in China it is growing by 50, maybe 40 percent, year over year compared to 2008. So that is a great opportunity for China auto makers, like us, to grab the opportunity and also build capacity for the future."
Passenger car sales in China jumped more than three-quarters in October alone to reach over 940,000 units. This comes after sales topped the one million mark in September for the first time ever.
Beijing has made no formal decision on whether to extend the stimulus measures beyond the official cut-off date of December 31st.
But some believe the incentives will continue.
General Motors China Chief Kevin Wale said, "Well, we expect the government is going to continue with some sort of support. Their stimulus activities have been very successful and I think they will continue that. So we think the market is going to grow between 10-15 percent next year."
China is pushing for new cars to be smaller, greener and domestically produced.
The shock of the global financial crisis, showed the need for China to fund and upgrade new green automotive technologies that many consider to be the wave of the future for the industry.
General Motors China Chief Kevin Wale said, "Electric vehicles in China are going to be very important, being driven by the government. And we're spending a lot of time on battery research here in China, to make sure we are developing cars that are suitable for application over here."
Meanwhile, local brands are looking to step up their game.
Byd, best known for putting batteries in one fourth of the world's cell phones, had on display its much-touted F3DM, a plug-in electric car with a backup gasoline engine.
The sedan started selling last December for around 22,000 US dollars.
Byd Export manager Henry Li said, "I think the trend is to give more support in the electrical cars. Especially when president Obama came to visit China, both countries have talked on a high level to have a joint force to support new energy or clean energy, including electric vehicle applications. I think that's a good move,"
BYD has now leaped ahead of more established international models to bring an affordable plug-in car to the market.
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