As global automakers trip over each other to get as much out of the Chinese market as they can, in a bizarre twist, the Asian nation’s domestic manufacturers now find that they need to crank up international expansion. The burgeoning Chinese middle class is snapping up foreign brands and while the local carmakers are still doing huge domestic numbers, it’s time to spread the China syndrome.
The UAE features long and large on the ambitious international expansion plans of Chinese car giant BAIC Motors, according to the company’s president, Haiyang Dong.
He was speaking this week at the massive Beijing auto show – or to give it the correct name, Auto China – when BAIC’s lively little runabout, the Senova D50, took its bow. The vehicle is expected to play a key role for BAIC and its dealership partner Gargash Motors as its profile increases in the Middle East.
Dong says: “We will focus on the Middle East, Andes, Asean [South East Asia], North Africa and South Africa regions. We want to be the pacesetter of Chinese auto internationalism. We also want to be one of the top 10 global players in the automotive industry. Asean and the Middle East are the two main growth areas. We don’t want to just export to all countries.”
BAIC is a top Fortune 500 company and in the leading five automotive groups in China. BAIC vehicles such as the D50 will be extensively tested and tailored to specific markets. Vehicles now have to prove that they can handle the summer heat before they hit UAE showrooms. The D50 has been built on the old 9-5 Saab platform. It was designed by the Italy-based elite car sketcher Mike Robinson.
“The Chinese auto industry is young,” says Dong. “We have grown very fast. So far, so good. It’s also very challenging; there’s a long way to go. I’m not keen on a great leap.”
Meanwhile, more than a thousand vehicles have been showcased at the 10-day event in China’s capital. The venue for the auto show is well out of the Beijing CBD, but the new China International Exhibition Centre attracted an average of 120,000 visitors per day.
Chinese tastes and preferences could be seen in many of the reveals at the Beijing auto gala. It saw the world premiere of Rolls-Royce’s Pinnacle Travel Phantom, the latest edition of the brand’s flagship, customisable luxury saloon, as well as a Phantom from the Majestic Horse Collection, a limited-edition range inspired by the Lunar Year of the Horse.
Bugatti also held the world premiere of the latest version of the Veyron Type 18 “Black Bess”, inspired by a famous pre-war model. Only three will be made – if you have a lazy $3.61 million (Dh13.3m), one could be yours.
Ford has just launched its luxury Lincoln brand in China and feels that it can woo younger drivers. It also unveiled a new Escort saloon – yep, it’s back – designed in China for global sale. Its chief executive Alan Mulally says: “I think it will sell around the world. But the real focus was led by the Chinese and what they wanted.”
GM took the tarps off a new version of the Chevrolet Cruze and displayed its Trax SUV targeting China’s booming SUV market.
Jeep will start manufacturing in China next year with Fiat’s local partner, Guangzhou Automobile Group, allowing Jeep to avoid steep import taxes. Jeep’s chief executive Mike Manley says that China is “clearly going to be the biggest market for SUVs in the world. And the good news is, that’s all we do.”
The Chinese auto industry is widely seen by manufacturers and observers alike as the goose that laid the golden egg and, unlike the countless millions of ducks making their way into the local cuisine’s myriad dishes (one restaurant in Beijing has been counting the ones served since it opened in 1860 and presents you with a numbered certificate to show you the number of the one that you’re about to eat), there’s no sign of it being killed off anytime soon.
[ weekend@thenational.ae ]
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