file photo

Forty years ago, owning a private car used to be a dream for many ordinary Chinese. But today, thanks to the reform and opening-up policies that have boosted the growth of automobile industry and the Chinese auto market, that is no longer the case.

As of September 2018, China’s car ownership reached 235 million, making China the world’s largest auto consumer market for nine consecutive years.

Specifically, China is the largest market for German carmakers.

For every two Volkswagen cars sold, one of them will be sold in China, introduced Carl Hahn, who headed Volkswagen Group from 1982 to 1993 and witnessed the first stage of the opening up of China’s auto market.

“The world automobile industry was born as early as the end of the 19th century. It was difficult for China to quickly close the technology gap. After a lot of detours, the Chinese automobile industry in 1978 began to seek joint ventures to compensate for gaps in technology and capital,” Hu Xinmin, honorary chairman of China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), recalled.

In the meantime, Hahn became one of the few leaders of foreign carmaker enterprises who expressed confidence in the Chinese market.

Foreign automakers represented by Volkswagen later introduced globally renowned parts suppliers to China, gradually helping the country to establish a complete supplier system and laying down a foundation for future development of China’s auto industry, according to Dong Yang, executive vice president of CAAM.

With support from joint ventures as well as local authorities, local brands have been constantly increasing investment and R&D efforts to improve their core technologies. Specifically, as local brands, Chinese carmakers are able to quickly respond to consumer preferences so as to gain more advantages in the fierce auto market, such as by offering more Internet-based technology in car entertainment systems.

China’s annual automobile production output was a mere 2 million in 2000. Today, China is the world’s largest automobile producer with a production capacity of nearly 30 million vehicles this year.