The Auto China 2012 motor show is currently under way in Beijing, and while it doesn’t yet have the cachet of a Geneva, Paris or Frankfurt it may well only be a matter of time.
But what is the scene really like in China? Are they still making shameless knock-offs of well known models? Or is the increase of European and Japanese manufacturers investing in China putting an end to such madness?
Gavin Green from Car has had a pretty good crack at providing answers to those questions. Here’s a snippet:
The local makers are surprisingly weak and their market share is dropping. Volkswagen is brand leader, Nissan second, Toyota third. The biggest indigenous brand is Chery at number eight. But these statistics mislead. All the big Western and Japanese brands have local manufacturing partners to share the profits if not the technical credit. Thus makers like SAIC, FAW and Dongfeng are rather more successful than their own-brand sales figures might suggest.
Wandering the halls of the Beijing show, what’s clear is how far the local makers are still behind. Think Korean cars of five to eight years ago, and you’ll get the picture…
Read Green’s thoughts in full by following the source link below.
[Source: Car]