|
"Right now, Chery's thinking is to make an affordable car for the average person," said CEO Yin Tongyao in a statement. To inject style into its boxy vehicles, Chery named a Porsche AG veteran in February to lead a 30-member design team in Shanghai. Others have hired designers with experience at Mercedes Benz, Ferrari and Pininfarina. In a boost to the independents, state media said in March that Beijing will tell local governments to favor domestic Chinese brands when purchasing automobiles. Until now, the bulk of government vehicle purchases were foreign brands assembled by SAIC and other state-owned manufacturers such as First Auto Works and Dongfeng Motor Co. Communist authorities also tried to find a shortcut to success by encouraging companies to pursue electric cars, an emerging field where they had a shot at a pioneering role. In 2009, they set a goal of producing up to 5 million electric vehicles a year by 2020 but have informally backed away from that after development proved tougher than expected. BYD, the Chinese leader in electric vehicles, sold just 1,700 electric cars and 700 electric buses in 2012 and says it expects to triple that this year. At the same time, global automakers are intensifying efforts to capture market share in China, which they see as a critical part of their future. Chinese domestic brands suffered a blow last year when GM hit their low-price market segment with a new version of its Sail sedan that sells for just 56,800 yuan ($9,100). Developed at GM's Shanghai design center in partnership with SAIC, the Sail also is due to be exported to India. The squeeze on China's independent brands is partly a side effect of their own government's policy to pressure global automakers to help create Chinese brands with local partners. GM created Baojun with SAIC, Nissan launched Venucia with Dongfeng and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz set up Denza with BYD. The GM and Nissan brands are aimed at China's vast but poor countryside while Denza focuses on electrics. Those brands represent a victory for Chinese policymakers but add to pressure on domestic makers in those markets. Chinese brands also face a slowdown in overall sales, though to still-robust levels that outpace Western markets. Sales in March rose 13.3 percent from a year earlier to 1.6 million vehicles, well below 2009's explosive 45 percent growth, according to an industry group, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. German and Korean automakers outgrew the market, posting sales of more than 20 percent from a year earlier. Sales of Chinese brands rose 14 percent, only slightly above the market average. Great Wall sales last year rose nearly 30 percent to 624,271 vehilces, according to LMC. Still, its market share was just 3 percent, in contrast to Volkswagen AG's 2.8 million vehicles sold and 14 percent market share and GM's 1.4 million vehicles and 8 percent share. The Chinese manufacturers get about half the sales revenue but industry analysts say the global partners end up with the bulk of profits after they are paid for technology and brand licenses. Chinese automakers have yet to establish a distinctive brand identity that will let them charge premium prices at home or attract the average American or European buyer, said Dunne, the Dunne & Co. president. "I've been waiting for the day when we could say, here come the Chinese, look out," Dunne said. "But the reality is mixed. Some are better, some are worse off," he said. "At this point it's more a matter of trying to hang around and stay in the game."
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries
Community |
Perspectives
|
Law & Courts |
Leisure Time
|
Spiritual Life |
Health & Fitness |
Teen Scene
Calendar
|
Letters to the Editor