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| Car fair opens in China's auto city |
| CCTV.COM 2003-07-16 09:07:02 |
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An International Auto Fair has opened in Changchun, better known as 'motor－city' in China. Tuesday was the first day of the event, and the 50th birthday of China's auto industry.
The week－long auto fair in Changchun is the first world－class exhibition to be held in China, since the country was removed from the list of SARS affected countries three weeks ago. Organizers remain on high alert against any possible virus, but participants seem to feel at ease.
Exhibitors have managed in different ways to impress visitors with their products and mission statements.
A concept car produced by the German Audi Company, named Pikes Peak, is probably the most eye－catching car at the expo. The car is the most expensive one ever shown at a China auto fair. Priced around 30 million euros, the concept car is reported to be environmentally clean. Audi reps say it has been publicly displayed only once before－in North America.
World－renowned car－manufacturers usually spare no expense and carefully design their displays to present their images. The biggest international exhibitor, the German Volkswagen Corporation, has put some two million US dollars into its display. To ensure that everything is authentic European, the company had all the building materials transported in from the continent.
Peter Dierks, sales & marketing manager of Volkswagen AG, said, "China is important for us. I think everybody knows we have a production here in China. This year, we hope to produce 300,000 cars here in Changchun. And it's also the 50th anniversary of FAW. Lots of our board members from Volkswagen will attend this exhibition."
Despite the price of many cars on display being way beyond the reach of an average Chinese, auto fans are grasping this opportunity to admire some world－class autos. According to an international car－manufacturer, one out of two people has a car in North America and Europe. But in China, the auto ownership rate is only 1 in 200. Therefore, international auto producers are introducing their state－of－the－art auto culture to China as a prelude to entering a market with massive sales potential.
Even though many of the Chinese here might not be ready to buy these world－class cars now, they definitely are dreaming about doing so in the future. International auto manufacturers are aiming to tap into this vast market of potential car buyers. With China's rising economy, the cars of their dreams many soon become the cars of their tomorrow.
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Editor: Xiao Wei CCTV.com
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