(8 Jun 2000) Mandarin/Eng/Nat

All the key players in the automobile industry are taking part in the week-long International Auto Show in Beijing, positioning themselves in the race to corner the blossoming Chinese market.

The Auto Show has drawn thousands of consumers from all over the country, but for most of them the glistening models on show are well beyond their pockets.

On the second day of the China’s International Auto Show in Beijing, thousand of Chinese consumers flocked into the exhibition hall.

Few of them can afford the cars on displayed here from automotive giants around the world.

Most said they have plans to buy at some stage, but not this year.

Cars are considered to be a reflection of wealth and status among Chinese.

With emerging waves of successful businessmen, more and more luxury cars can be seen on the streets.

China’s automobile industry is still suffering from high tariffs for imported cars and car purchase duties.

But the government is poised to slash car taxes.

And China is about to enter the World Trade Organisation (W-T-O).

Both of these factors should cause car prices to fall, boosting consumer demand.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
“I think Chinese consumers are going to see prices go down. On things like automobiles, for example, I think prices will go down somewhat. There’ll be more international firms coming in to China to manufacture things in China, to employ more Chinese employees. I think WTO is going to be a real shot in the arm for the Chinese economy and for the Chinese people.”
SUPER CAPTION: Jim Sassar, former U.S. Ambassador to China and now the adviser of Ford Motor Company

With China’s huge population, the industry enjoys markets diversity.

Domestic car manufacturers have been quick to take advantage of this, and sell a wide variety of vehicles from vans and city cars to military jeeps.

Foreign companies are offering more affordable cars, hoping to tap into the savings of millions of potential Chinese customers.

With the average income put at 600 U-S dollars per year, cars with price tags like this new Volkswagen are still off limits to most buyers.

SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin)
” I am just a small businessman and the income is just around 30-thousand yuan (4- thousand U-S dollars), so maybe I still need to wait around 3 years to buy a car.”
SUPER CAPTION: Mr.Kong, a visitor from Shandong province

General Motors is hoping that customers won’t have to save up for this long.

They’ve slashed the price of Buicks by 20-thousand yuan (2-thousand-500 U-S dollars).

Although most car makers expect sales in China drop further this year, they are confident that the Chinese market will blossom when the country enters the W-T-O.

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