Chinese automakers aim high but have no illusions about global competitiveness

Becoming world famous could be a double-edged sword for a Chinese auto maker. Geely, for instance, became famous overnight after signing a binding deal worth 1.8 billion U.S. dollars in March to buy the near-bankrupt Volvo from Ford Motor Co.

Then a video spread by Chinese users of the Internet revealed how the China brand had been mocked by foreign audiences. A comedy advertisement on the BBC TV show 'Top Gear' pretended to display an inferior "Made-in-China" brand auto, portraying itself as a cheap "knock off" looking like the venerable British Rolls-Royce.

Yang Xueliang, public relations director of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Co. Ltd., downplayed the harm of a burgeoning Chinese brand being ridiculed by Western media at the ongoing China Changchun International Automobile Trade Fair.

"I know they do model comparisons and make fun of us. But I don' t think we Chinese should be distressed or be self-conscious. Japanese and Korean auto makers received similar treatment when they first ventured into European and American markets decades ago."

"The auto industry began late in China. That is a fact. All we need to do is to be good students and work hard to learn quicker and better than anybody else," said Yang in an interview with Xinhua.

After auto sales in overseas markets rebounded to varying extents during the first half of the year amidst the recovery of the global economy, indigenous Chinese auto makers, including Geely, have unveiled their desire to expand their overseas presence. And coincidentally, they all hope to play the quality card, rather than offer low-cost autos.

Under the Changchun Consensus released Friday by the Society of Automobile Engineers of China (SAEC) during the eight-day trade fair that began July 15, chief technology officers from 13 local automakers agreed to improve industrial collaboration in technology standardizations, research and development concerning new-energy vehicles, quality control and sustainable development.

These automakers are China FAW Group Corporation, Dongfeng Motor, SAIC Motor, Chang'an Automobile, Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. Ltd., Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd., Chery, BYD Auto, Geely,

Brilliance Auto, JAC Motors, Great Wall Motor and China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co. Ltd.

SAEC executive deputy director Fu Yuwu viewed the consensus as "a significant step" taken by China's indigenous auto makers to advance technical innovations and elevate competitiveness throughout the industry.

For a long time, a widely-recognized advantage of Made-in-China vehicles compared to those of German, Japanese and American brand names, has been their lower prices. Indigenous Chinese auto makers knew such an advantage could not last, especially when the overall image of Made-in-China had been seriously tarnished by a range of scandals involving toys, milk.

"Although the low-cost strategy brought us a place in the market in the very beginning, in the long run we must shift to an integrated strategy able to combine our cutting edge in price, technologies, brand names, service and corporate morality," said Yang.

According to Geely's development plan, the company's annual sales volume will be expanded to two million units by 2015, more than six times as many as the current level. Of this total, two-thirds are to be sold abroad. This year, Geely set a sales target of 22,000 units compared to last year's actual exports of 19,000 units.

To reach this goal, Geely will establish 15 production bases worldwide and advance its mergers and acquisitions across the world.

Besides Volvo, the largest private auto maker in China also bought Australian Drivertrain Systems International, the world's second largest manufacturer of automatic gearboxes which supplies Ford Motor, Chrysler and Ssangyong Motor.

"Geely aims to be a global competitive brand. But for now, there is still much to be done in raising the popularity of its brand names and expanding overseas after-sales services and distribution networks," Yang said.

With its name pronounced the same as "jili" in Mandarin, the two Chinese characters meaning "good luck" in English, Geely created a sales slogan- "Have Geely" (or"luck" ) to be seen worldwide -- and hopes to be the best representative of Made-in-China vehicles. But it is not the only local auto maker in China aiming high in the global market.

Great Wall Motor, based in Baoding of North China's Hebei Province, displayed a poster in the exhibition hall of the Changchun auto fair featuring a slogan that reads this way: "Great Wall Vehicles, Made in China."

Its eye-catching flagship products on display include two new models -- the Tengyi C50 sedan and the small SUV Hafo M3,-- both of which are expected to be ready for the market next year, along with the high-end pickup truck K2 and medium-sized SUV K5.

The latter two, along with the CH021 and CH011, passed the European Whole Vehicle Type Approval testing from the UK-based Vehicle Certification Agency last November -- a designated European Vehicle Type Approval authority, making Great Wall Motors the first indigenous Chinese vehicle manufacturer to earn such approval.

Fu Jianguang, supervisor of the Northeast China Market of Great Wall Motor, told Xinhua that Great Wall Motor hoped to fill the image vacuum of China-made vehicles in the overseas market.


【1】 【2】