Auto Beijing: The signs of things to come

By Patrick Whiteley (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-24 06:53

Large Medium Small

As homegrown car companies attract increasingly wider interest, Geely, Great Wall Motors, Chang'an, BYD, Chery, JAC and Dongfeng are in the spotlight. Lao Chun / China Daily

Any newcomer to Beijing must climb the Great Wall, tour the Forbidden City, visit the Bird's Nest Olympic stadium and enjoy a delicious plate of Peking Duck.

And if a visitor is passing through the capital during late April, a must-see is Auto China 2010.

Not only a marvelous showcase of the world's latest excitement machines, Auto China 2010 is a snapshot of what the nation is like today and a revelation of what it is becoming - a modern, fast, ambitious, bustling, dynamic and spectacular nation.

And there is more to see at Auto China 2010 than just the latest model cars. A foreign visitor to the show will also glimpse the dreams and aspirations of the Chinese people.

Fathers and sons will stand together gazing at cars they see on local roads every day - such as the Jetta and Santana from Volkswagen, Buick's Excelle, Toyota's Corolla and Camry, Honda's Accord; BYD's F3 and Chery's QQ - because these are the best-selling passenger cars in the land.

Families will look at cars they can easily afford, such as the 25,000 yuan Wuling Sunshine minivan, and cars they aspire to own, such as the 10 million yuan Rolls or top-of-the line Mercedes-Benz.

Inside the New International Exhibition Center excited young men will be awestruck by the shiny new automobiles and busily film all the details on their mobile phone video cameras. Very often the camera lenses will turn to the ubiquitous array of beautiful models surrounding these four-wheeled objects of desire.

Quite a buzz

Thousands of foreign motoring industry professionals will also be arriving in Beijing for the first time, among them a group lead by the Australian Automobile Dealers Association (AADA).

There is now quite a buzz about Chinese-made cars Down Under following the rollout of the Great Wall pickup, or "ute" as Aussies like to call that type of vehicle. Now many car dealers in the world, not just Australians, want to know what else is on offer, and they will see it in Beijing.

I first visited Auto China four years ago, loved it, and AADA is also enthusiastic about its prospects.

"With a history of nearly 20 years, Auto China has become a platform for the exchange of the world's most cutting-edge innovative technologies and an arena for competitive brand promotion," the AADA says on its website.

"The show now enjoys a wider recognition with exhibits showing a higher level in quality. Many multinational auto companies have ranked Auto China as one of the world's leading auto shows as it plays an important role in the development of China's automotive industry and the country's own automobile brands."

Retail reps from everywhere will see with their own eyes what Chinese cars are really like and not have to rely on outdated stories from yesteryear.

They will see the latest passenger cars, commercial and special-purpose vehicles along with mind-boggling concept cars. They will see high quality and competitive auto parts, and will witness state-of-the-art manufacturing and technologically advanced processing equipment.

At Auto China 2010, foreign guests will discover how Chinese car companies are using the latest R&D methods and applying cutting-edge technology to grease the wheels of to-day's modern motoring industry.

The Aussie car dealers know a deal on wheels when they see one. Australia's population is small, but it has one of the highest per capita car ownerships in the world with 720 motor vehicles per 1,000 people, according to 2009 figures from the Australia Bureau of Statistics.

New options

After a depressing year of auto sales, the Australian car dealers will be heartened by the enthusiasm on display at Auto China 2010.

They will also be in for a treat, with so many new models on show for the first time. FAW-VW has its new Jetta, a lengthened Magotan, Shanghai-VW has its fifth generation Polo and its electric-powered Golf.

Audi is revealing a new sportback model, its Q5 RS5, and all-new A8L. Nissan has the Livina with a facelift, Skoda is howing its new Octavia sedan and wagon, while Renault is proud to present its Laguna Coupe, Clio RS and new Scenic.

But in my mind, the homegrown Chinese car companies are the ones to watch.

Check out the latest from Geely, Great Wall Motors, Chang'an, BYD, Chery, JAC and Dongfeng.

The Australian dealers might say: "We know who Geely and Great Wall Motors are, but who are these other guys?"

The answer is at Auto China 2010.

The author is a veteran auto writer in Australia.