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Chinese auto market competition fierce
(www.detnews.com)
Updated: 2007-04-20 21:05 It is no secret that Chinese car companies are moving up. Five years ago, Chinese-branded cars - Chery, Geely and Brilliance - captured less than 10 percent of China's domestic car market. At that time, sino-foreign joint ventures like Shanghai GM, Guangzhou Honda and Beijing Hyundai took the overwhelming majority of sales. Today, the Chinese brands' share has surged to 29 percent. Conventional sentiment inside China's auto industry is that this figure will continue to rise in the years to come, reaching 40 percent or more by 2010. What is less talked about is the number of Chinese brands jousting for market share. Today, there are 18 Chinese brands produced and sold in China. Not all of them can survive in China's increasingly competitive market. This large gaggle of Chinese companies vying for sales makes it difficult to know which are legitimately strong and which are merely temporary contestants. We can make some safe conclusions about at least one automaker: Chery. The Wuhu-based state-enterprise leads in all categories. In March, Chery was first in production, topping even the leading joint venture companies. For the year, Chery aims to produce 500,000 units. "To be number one, we work seven days a week and 18 hours a day," is the oft-heard mantra inside the company. Chery is also number one in exports. Distributors from around the world are queuing up for the rights to represent Chery in their home markets. In volume terms, Geely (a company founded by Li Shufu and listed in Hong Kong) and FAW-Xiali (a state enterprise) comprise a second tier of contenders. Both companies offer small cars for under $6,000. (For more biz stories, please visit Industries)
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