Demand for autos moves into high gear
By Yu Qiao (China Daily)Updated: 2006-11-18 09:32
More than 1,500 domestic and international vehicle manufacturers and
automotive buffs are revving up for the 2006 Beijing International Automotive
Exhibition, which opens today.
During the 10-day automotive banquet, 556
vehicles will be displayed, with six models made by foreign marques making their
global debuts.
The event comes at a time when China's automotive market
has returned to the fast lane. In the first three quarters of this year, sales
of domestically manufactured vehicles surged by a quarter to 5.17 million
units.
China has become a big bonanza for global automakers. It is widely
anticipated to overtake Japan's position as the world's second biggest vehicle
market this year and unseat the United States as the No 1 within the next 10 to
15 years.
Ford Motor Co, which is floundering with sales plunges and huge
losses in the US market, is the biggest exhibitor of the Beijing auto show. Ford
is displaying 52 models with its affiliated brands Mazda, Volvo, Lincoln, Land
Rover and Jaguar in a 5,000-square-metre booth.
Cheng Meiwei, Ford
Motor's vice-president and chairman of Ford Motor China, yesterday predicted
that China will account for 50 per cent of the world's auto market growth during
the next 10 years.
"Ford Motor has been implementing a modular growth
strategy with a clear long-term blueprint to become one of the key players in
the market and growing our capacity in line with market demand in a timely
fashion," Cheng said.
He said Ford's annual production capacity in China
will reach 410,000 units by the end of next year, up from 20,000 units in
2003.
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