Chinese automakers aiming big for 2010 sales

With the further release of auto consumption demand in China, automakers are facing a favorable development environment.

However, we should recognize that, besides the improvement of output and sales volume, what shall be improved at the same time are technologies and quality, which is the lifeline for the development of enterprises.

The test appraisal of the whole 23 auto types in 2009, which is issued by China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATRC), shows that currently, among the autos newly launched in China, two-star cars occupies 4.3 percent, three-star cars 13 percent, four-star cars 30.4 percent and five-star cars 52.2 percent.

Zhao Hang, Director of CATRC, expressed that, "What's particularly obvious is that six types of small passenger vehicles, which have been appraised in 2009, had prominent performance, no matter the self-owned brands or joint-venture brands, both the score and star-rate have been improved than the past."

"Except for the gap in such aspects as comfort, the small autos with self-owned brand have been in line with the world on passive safety technologies." This indicated that the product quality of China's self-owned brand autos has been enhanced greatly; furthermore, they are still improving the quality and technologies by efforts.

In terms of technical upgrade, we see that Geely has mastered the technology on gear boxes, which is one of the key technologies for autos, through purchasing the world second-largest gear box plant DSI.

Beijing Automobile has obtained the overall quality and manufacture technique system through purchasing part of SAAB's assets; recently, the diesel sedan engine and the 4/6-speed automatic transmission, which are developed independently by Huatai Automobile and meet Euro V Emission Standard, have gotten off the assembly line in Erdos.

Huatai Automobile has become a self-owned brand automaker having mastered such three technologies in engines, gearboxes and whole cars at the same time.

In terms of new energy autos, there have been 15 types of self-owned brand cars in the Catalogue of commended auto types for the project of demonstrating, promoting and applying the autos with energy conservation and new energy.

What deserves notice is that China Association of Automobile Industry has taken the development of electric power autos as a special action, and organized such enterprises as SAIC Group, China FAW Group, Dongfeng Motor and Changan Auto to jointly inked Program of Joint Action in Developing Electric Power Autos and formulated the industrial development strategy on electric power autos as "leading actively, acting jointly, focusing priority and developing innovatively".

The joint efforts by multi-parties means that, with the further maturity of the consumption environment of new energy autos in China, self-owned brands will give more excellent performance in the market in 2010.