China Emerges as a Global Automotive Powerhouse

The 2006 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition came to a close on December 4, showcasing 10 global debuts by leading auto manufacturers, highlighting China's growing importance in the global auto market. The exhibition, considered a global A-class by eight major players, including Daimler-Chrysler, BMW, and Volkswagen, demonstrated China's increasing influence as a significant auto market. Volkswagen, in particular, announced that it would surpass the Tokyo auto show, becoming its only global A-class exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region.

Key Takeaways:

China's auto sales have doubled over the past five years, with the country expected to have a more competitive growth for the following decade.
The Chinese market has contributed 50 percent to the increased auto sales worldwide, according to Ford's CEO Meiwei Cheng.
Mazda plans to bring the latest technologies and models to China to reach its targeted production and sales of 300,000 units in 2010.
Toyota debuted its globally strategic new Corolla car, also known as "Kaluola" in Chinese, and expects to sell roughly 300,000 vehicles in China this year.
Toyota plans to increase sales by 30 percent to 400,000 units in 2007 and further to one million units in 2010, which would account for 10 percent of the expected total in the Chinese market.
Industry experts predict that China will surpass the US to become the world's biggest new vehicle consumer in 2020, with estimated sales of 20 million units.

Statistics:

China's auto consumption ranked fourth worldwide in 2002 with 3.24 million units and rose to the third in 2004.
China's sedan sales jumped from approximately 800,000 units in 2001 to 4 million units this year, with a yearly growth of roughly 40 percent.
The Vietnamese market has contributed 50 percent to the increased auto sales worldwide.
Toyota expects to sell roughly 300,000 vehicles in China this year, with plans to increase sales by 30 percent to 400,000 units in 2007.

Sources:

(SinoCast China Transportation Watch via COMTEX)
(USD 1 = CNY 7.83)