Living Arts

Beijing motor show draws record exhibitors, world-best brands

The Beijing International Automotive Exhibition 2008, which opened with a press preview yesterday, has drawn the largest number of companies ever, organizers said.
The record number of participants in the 10th annual installment of the show reflects China`s automotive market`s phenomenal growth, analysts said.
Last year, more than 8.79 million cars were sold, making China the second largest automotive market in the world, after the United States. More than 10 million cars are projected to be sold in the country this year. Having produced 8.87 million automobiles last year, China is also the world`s third largest maker of cars after Japan and the United States.
Participating in this year`s event are more than 2,100 carmakers and auto parts manufacturers from 18 countries, compared to last year`s 1,600 companies. At the first Beijing International Automotive Exhibition held in 1990, the number of companies taking part was about 400.
What`s more, some of the world`s best known automakers such as Mercedes-Benz and Audi are using the show to unveil their newest cars. Mercedes-Benz has chosen the Beijing show to reveal the new compact sports utility vehicle GLK-Class for the first time while Audi`s mid-sized SUV Q5 is making its debut at the show. Of the 890 models, including 55 concept cars, being showcased at the show, seven are world premiers and 24 models are being shown for the first time in Asia.
Of Korea`s five automakers, only Hyundai Kia Automotive Group`s two carmakers and Ssangyong Motor Co. are taking part in the event.
The country`s largest carmaker, Hyundai Motor Co., is leading its 16-car exhibition with its luxury sports sedan Genesis launched locally in January. Planned for launch in China in late June, the Genesis will be sold as the Rohens in China.
As with its strategy for the United States, the company hopes to use the Genesis to pry open China`s fast growing luxury car market. According to the company, last year China`s market for large sedans such as the Audi A6 and Chrysler`s 300C grew by 34 percent from the previous year to come in at about 200,000 units.
Company officials at the show said that the Rohens will strengthen its lineup and, along with the sports utility vehicle Veracruz and the sedan Azera, it will help build an image of Hyundai Motor as a manufacturer of high-end luxury cars in China.
Hyundai Motor is also showcasing the sports car Genesis Coupe that will be released in Korea later in the year and a Tucson SUV fitted with a hydrogen fuel cell.
Hyundai Motor`s sister carmaker Kia Motors is also focusing on higher end cars at this year`s show with its new sport utility vehicle Mohave.
The Mohave has also been renamed for the Chinese market and the company will be marketing the car from July under the name Ba Rui.
The company`s other exhibits include the concept car KOUP that was unveiled for the first time at the New York International Auto Show held last year and a hydrogen fuel cell version of the SUV Sportage.
In addition to showing off their latest cars at the show, Hyundai Kia Automotive Group yesterday announced that it has established a new division to oversee all of its operations in China. Until now Hyundai Motor`s Beijing Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors` Dongfeng Yueda Kia Motors Co. have been managed separately by each company`s overseas management divisions.
The company said that the move has been made in order to strengthen its presence in China and increase synergy between the different operations.
At the show, Ssangyong Motor went a step further and used the event to launch its luxury full-sized sedan Chairman W.
Launched on the local market in March, the Chairman W comes with a 5-liter engine and seven-speed automatic transmission produced by the German luxury specialist Mercedes-Benz. In addition to having the largest engine among domestic cars, with prices going up to 102 million won ($102,200) the Chairman W is also the most expensive car to be produced by a local company.

By Choi He-suk

(cheesuk@heraldm.com)





2008.04.21

My friends and I made the prediction that the Chinese automotive shows will be where the major manufacturers will unveil and debut their cars from now on. All the major shows like Geneva, Detroit, Frankfurt and Tokyo events will still be key shows but no longer the main events, as China's importance in transportation has grown immensely.