Seven is seen as a lucky number in most Western countries, but six
has traditionally been the most auspicious digit in China. Six has always had
the edge on the mainland until recently, that is. A new contender has emerged
over the past year to threaten its historical dominance: 70.
As unlikely as this may sound, one need only refer to the frequency with
which this number has appeared in recent months to believe it. Sales of
passenger cars grew by 70 per cent in China in January from the same period last
year. Online marketing sales in 2005, including online advertising and search
engine marketing, grew to 5.51 billion yuan (US$682 million) from 2004 also an
increase of 70 per cent.
But the numbers aren't the only thing that's surprising. Both automobiles
and the Internet are changing the lives of Chinese consumers like never before.
This has paved the way for automobile websites, the ideal meeting point for two
seemingly disparate but equally hot industries. The potential is huge, but the
commercial benefits still have yet to materialize.
A 2005 China Automotive Website report by Shanghai iResearch Co Ltd shows
there are more than 1,200 automobile-related websites throughout the country.
Approximately 30 per cent of these are run by automakers or related companies,
and about 30 major websites provide information on automobiles, car clubs and
online shopping.
Surfing these websites for car-related information has proven particularly
popular among Chinese auto enthusiasts, no unlike consumers in other countries.
Twenty-seven year old Beijing office worker Cedar Zhang logs into
Pcauto.com.cn on a daily basis to check the latest prices and testing reports
from car companies and users. Zhang loves to drive and got his licence three
years ago. He has been dreaming of owning his own car ever since.
"The Internet is very convenient, because it's impossible to find anywhere
else that you can learn about technical features and performance in one shot,"
says Zhang.
Websites have a huge hold on car enthusiasts. For
example, approximately 56,900 users out of one million visited top Chinese
portal Sina's automobile channel on February 10, according to global website
traffic monitor Alexa. The popularity of these websites has become so big that
automakers spent 250 million yuan (US$30 million) on online advertising in 2005.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)