New auto base to drive pillar sector

By Zhao Xin | China Daily | Updated: 2007-03-08 07:08

Huang Wenhua (left), administrative committee chief of the Changchun Economic and Technological Development Zone, and Jiang Lei, vice-chairman of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, shake hands at the inauguration ceremony of the Changchun Special Vehicle Industry Park on March1.

Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin Province, has intensified efforts to further build up its automobile industry as the pillar of its economy. Establishment of the first special vehicle industry park in China is its latest move in this direction.

The setting up of the Changchun Special Vehicle Industry Park, inaugurated a week ago, marks a milestone in China's automobile history.

Backed by well-established industrial support, technological strength and favorable environment, the park is expected to provide an effective platform for the exhibition and trade of special vehicle products, as well as information exchange on them.

Recent years have seen a dramatic development of China's automobile industry, which is playing an increasingly important role in the international auto market.

Demand for automobiles in China jumped to second-highest in the world last year, after being ranked seventh in 2001.

A common rule that guides world automobile industry development dictates that when business vehicles account for 30 percent of the entire automobile industry's market share, special vehicles see a considerable rise in demand, say insiders.

Statistics show that business vehicles captured a 29 percent share of China's auto market in September 2006, which was quite close to the critical point.

It is estimated that the business vehicle market share will reach or even exceed 30 percent this year.

Thus the golden age of China's special vehicles is expected to begin soon.

However, China still lags behind in the worldwide special vehicles sector compared with developed countries.

To close the gap, a special auto industry park will be built in the Changchun Economic and Technological Development Zone, where special vehicle and auto component makers have maintained a robust growth momentum.

Over more than a decade of development, the automobile sector has become a pillar industry of the zone.

At present, five leading Chinese special vehicle makers, including FAW Special Vehicle Co Ltd and Hebei Zhongxing Automobile Co Ltd, have set up units in the zone.

In addition, 83 well-known auto component makers from home and abroad have started production there.

With 10 research and development centers, the development zone provides strong technological support for the growth of special vehicles.

(China Daily 03/08/2007 page20)