Automakers' high spending on advertisements may not necessarily result in higher popularity and wider acceptance among the Chinese clients, an ACNielson survey has found.

Automakers' ads spending in China totaled 4.6 billion yuan (554million US dollars) in 2003, including 2 billion yuan (241 millionUS dollars) on television and 2.6 billion yuan (313 million US dollars) on the printed media, says Philippe Coquelle, an auto researcher with ACNielson's China arm.

The amount was twice as much as the figure for 2002, according to Coquelle.

In 2003, Volkswagen topped all automakers with 650 million yuan(78.3 million US dollars) of ads spending and recognition from 55 percent of Chinese consumers, followed by Audi, which spent 290 million yuan (about 35 million US dollars) and won popularity from18 percent of consumers.

The ACNielson survey has found Honda to be the most cost-effective in terms of ads spending versus consumer recognition. The company in 2003 spent only 95 million yuan (11.4 million US dollars) on advertisement, about one seventh of Volkswagen's ads spending, but became the third most popular auto brand with recognition from 17 percent of Chinese consumers.

General Motors and Toyota spent 350 million yuan (42 million USdollars) and 330 million yuan (40 million US dollars) respectivelyon advertisements, and were accepted by 15 percent and 11 percent of consumers.

Coming next in popularity are Citroen and Hyundai, which have attracted six percent and five percent of Chinese consumers respectively, according to the ACNielson survey.

The survey also indicates that the recognition of different auto brands varies in different cities. In the national capital Beijing, which boasts the largest number of private cars in China,consumer recognition of local auto brands is higher than that reported in Shanghai and Guangzhou, where corporate buyers remain the largest consumer group.

In the wake of the drastic growth in auto sales reported in 2003, China's auto market has begun to slow down in 2004. According to the ACNielson survey carried out in Beijing, Shanghaiand Guangzhou, only six percent of the consumers surveyed acknowledge they plan to buy cars in the coming 12 months.

The survey also shows Chinese consumers are becoming more mature and sensible in decision-making. Thirty-six percent of the consumers surveyed say whether it is "worthile" is the prime factor for them to consider before they buy a car, followed by 17 percent who say what matters the most is the brand and corporate image, 10 percent who value aftersale service, six percent the performance and five percent the design.

The first step to succeed in China's auto market, notes Coquelle, is to convey the right information, ensure the target consumers are interested, analyze the crucial factors for their decision-making and work out more cost-effective ad strategies accordingly.

Statistics from China Machinery Industry Federation show China's auto industry made a profit of 44.336 billion yuan (about 5.36 billion US dollars) in the first half this year, up 13.68 percent over the same period last year but the growth rate dropped by 90.31 percentage points year-on-year.

The output of motor vehicles hit 2,744,500 in six months from January to June with 1,247,800 sedan cars, a rise of 26.93 percentand 34.25 percent respectively over the same period last year.

Industry insiders predict China's demand for automobiles in 2020 is expected to reach 20.74 million units, including 20.43 million sedans, and the total number of cars in China by then willtop 156 million.

Source: Xinhua