Domestic imported car market faces new challenges

• Source: Ce.cn
• [08:46 August 25 2009]
• Comments

In the first half of 2009, China's auto sales volume reached 6.0988 million sets while the registration volume of those imported autos is 153,000 sets.

Only viewing such two data, the imported autos only take a very small proportion in China's auto market. But from the market performance of 1.6-liter-and-above autos in the first half of this year, it can be found that the sales volume of homemade vehicles in such an emission extent takes a small proportion.

The registration volume of imported autos, all of which are basically in such an emission extent, has increased by 15.6 percent year on year. It is obviously that the imported autos still hold an important position in China's auto market.

At present, China's auto market is composed of self-independent brands, joint venture brands and imported autos.

The imported auto market, which has been impressed by a portfolio of policies, for example, the adjustment on consumption tax, and the international financial crisis, is facing a new round of change and adjustment.

Increasingly open and standardized market

Since the launch of adjusted policy on consumption tax was brewing last year, people have been holding an unpromising attitude towards the domestic imported auto market of this year.

But what surprises people is that the sales volume of the imported autos rose rapidly in the first half of this year, the actual sales volume did not decrease but otherwise increased, and the registration volume of those imported autos went up by 15.6 percent than the same period of last year, reaching 153,000 sets.       
                                                                                         
Song Xianmao, Director of Import Division, Electromechanical and Science & Technology Industry Department, Ministry of Commerce, revealed in the "Imported Auto Expo Beijing 2009 - High Level Summit on Strategic Development for China's Import Auto Enterprises" that China began to import autos from 1950s, by the end of June, 2009, China has imported 4.538 million sets of various autos, including the components and parts used for manufacture enterprises, and 92.8 percent of these autos are imported after the reform and opening-up policy is implemented: from 1978 to June, 2009, China's various imported auto volume totaled 4.21 million sets.

Under the background that the imported auto market is completely opened and the domestic auto market is full of competition, China's imported auto volume exceeded 400,000 sets in 2008.

China has become the largest imported auto market in Asia and the traits of high grade, individuation and diversity in the imported auto market are more and more distinct.

The structural adjustment in the imported auto market is expedited

In the second half of 2008, auto importers suddenly felt them behind the eighth ball. In last September, due to the implementation of the policy on adjusting consumption tax, plus the hearsay of reforming fuel tax, the sales volume of above 3.0-liter imported autos slid down rapidly.

And in rapid sequence, the international financial crisis that swept across the globe made the high grade, individuation and diversity-positioned imported auto market more wretched.