Overseas auto giants march into China's second and third tier cities

China's Auto Industry Condition Index has reached a record high this year and is continuing an upward trend in the first quarter. Due to the continued boom in China's auto market, overseas auto manufacturers have started to occupy the secondary and tertiary markets.

The ongoing Beijing International Auto Expo is an arena for overseas giant car manufacturers to attract visitors with competitive products and to announce expansion strategies in China.

Ambitious Japanese cars marched into Chinese auto market in full stride.

Subaru, representing Japanese cars, formed an attractive lineup with a large contingent of models. Moreover, the hybrid concept car Subaru Hybrid Tourer, representing its latest eco-friendly design, debuted at the expo. The renowned race car driver Hanhan, who recently joined the China Rally Team, was also invited to promote the exhibition.

Nurtured by years of economic growth, consumer demand needs a quick release, according to insiders from Subaru. The numbers of imported cars increased by 39 percent and 33 percent, respectively, in secondary and tertiary cities of China in 2009, accounting for 53 percent of the total volume of registered imported-cars licenses, exceeding the overall auto market growth.

Renault also announced future development plans in China. Furthermore, it spared no expense in inviting Hong Kong super star Aaron Guo to endorse its newly imported model.

Thanks to the booming auto market, we have made a breakthrough in sales, said Chen Guozhang, Asia-Pacific CEO of Renault. More new technology vehicles, especially eco-friendly cars will be introduced and Renault desires to occupy the high-end MPV and the coupe market in China, Chen said.

Japan's Honda achieved 34 percent sales growth in March in China compared to the corresponding period of last year. Hoping to extend the success, Honda released the new Electric car EV-N and Hybrid cars in the Beijing Expo, and also chose releasing its latest concept car for the world debut.

Takanobu Ito, Honda president said they have achieved 69 percent profit growth in fiscal year 2009. Compared with loss-making Toyota and Nissan, Honda ranks first in profitability among Japanese cars enterprises. He said Honda will upgrade production capacity as soon as possible to follow up market demand. Honda currently has two joint ventures in China. The second plant of Dongfeng Honda is under construction and Guangzhou Auto Honda is now considering expanding production capacity.

By People's Daily Online