SUV craze

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-13 11:26

Members of Beijing CRV Club on their way to Beijing outskirts .

They may be the losers in a lackluster car market in the US, but sports utility vehicles (SUVs) are still big business in China.

While sales plummeted 40 percent in the US last year, almost 450,000 units were sold across China - and the domestic market is continuing to grow. As of September, sales had already hit 441,600 units.

Targeted by eco-protection groups for their gas-guzzling reputation, SUVs are being overlooked by many Americans in favor of more compact, economical vehicles during the global financial slowdown.

But in Beijing and other Chinese cities, they are still doing booming trade with a younger generation striving to be different.

"When I bought my Honda CR-V (180-horsepower and four-wheel drive) early last year, SUVs were a rare sight on the capital's roads," said Yi Gang, 33, a businessman in the entertainment industry.

Yi founded the Beijing CRV Club last year and now has more than 2,000 registered members.

About 80 percent of the members belong to post-80s generation, he said.

Around 40 members take part in a weekly drive or make one long journey a year, said Yi.

Last month, the club also visited a woman who rescues stray dogs in Changping district to take her pet food and donate money.

"CR-V is the tie that binds us," added Yi.

Like the many buyers in the US in the 1990s, Beijingers say they are attracted to SUVs because of their safety features.

"My friends told me the big SUVs were safe before I got one," said Li Yuanyuan, 25, who in March was given an Audi Q7 by her father, a successful landlord in Liaoning province.

"I was not very good at driving when I got the Q7, so safety was the most important thing."

Most SUVs have a light-truck chassis and strong collision protection for the driver and passengers.

However, Lan He, chief editor of Auto Times Magazine, questioned the safety of these vehicles.

"An SUV is not safer than car and, in fact, can be more dangerous in some situations," Lan said.

"SUVs easily roll over in collisions at high speed because of the high center of gravity, and they do far more damage than an ordinary car if they hit a pedestrian."

For the wealthy, SUVs have also become a status symbol, and Li said that many of her friends had SUVs as second vehicles, with the most popular including the BMW X5, Mercedes Benz ML and Porsche Cayenne.

An SUV is a vehicle equivalent of a pair of jeans: casual and fit for daily life. But Li said that if she did not have her Q7, she fears she would not be able to hang out with her friends.

"It is not a kind of show off but you have to keep pace with your friends." she added.

SUVs hit the showrooms in China in 2003 and, as with other luxury brands, are enjoying success in the East while sales are freezing in the West.

China was rated second in the list of countries that consumed most luxury brands last year, beaten only by Japan. The nation is expected to be No 1 by 2014, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

A report by Claire Kent, an analyst for global financial services firm Morgan Stanley, said after years of poverty, the Chinese elite is suddenly wild about displaying their wealth.

As oil prices and awareness of global warming rose in the mid-2000s, sales of SUVs began to drop. Many people expect the same trend in Beijing in coming years.

"It is a waste to drive big SUVs in Beijing where traffic is a big problem," said editor Lan.

"The big advantages of SUVs are its high speed and off-road capabilities. But neither of these are any use in the capital."

The average fuel consumption of an SUV is 15 to 20 percent more than the average saloon car, and if used daily the cost difference is enormous.

Li spends about 800 yuan ($115) a month on fuel for her Q7 but said only drives less than 30 days a month.

"My home is near a subway station, so I try to use public transport as often as I can to help the environment," she said.

"Otherwise I have waste time trying to find somewhere to park my car."

An Audi Q7 is more than 5 m long and almost 2 m wide. "Sometimes I even have to occupy two ports when I park," laughed Li, who added that she plans to trade the car in for a smaller model next year.