Manufacturers from Europe, US and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have recently stepped up their automobile exports to China, hoping to snatch market shares from the hands of their Japanese rivals.
Statistics from the Tianjin Port Bonded Zone (BZ) show that Germany supplies 28.7 percent of Tianjin's total automobile imports, US 16 percent, and ROK is now accounting for 10 percent.
Japan was formerly a major automobile exporter to China. Prior to June this year, it accounted for 55 percent of Tianjin's entire automobile imports. However from June sales began to go downhill and about 3,400 assorted Japanese cars have been stock-piled in Tianjin, according to statistics.
As one of the seven ports designated by the state for importing automobiles, Tianjin Port BZ imports into China about one half of the country's foreign cars. Many foreign-funded enterprises and joint ventures here are making a business of importing and exporting cars or automobile parts and fittings.
China's Auto Market to Top 1 Million by 2005
Roland Berger, a leading consultancy management of Europe, issued in Shanghai September 3 its latest analysis report on the trend of China's Auto industry after its WTO accession.
The report dealt with the ten such major issues as auto market capacity, superfluous production, and preparations by whole car manufacturers for the WTO entry. It predicts that the market sales would reach 1 million and 2 million by 2005 and 2010 respectively, with 1-2 litre private cars growing at the fastest speed. The superfluous production of auto industry can only be eased by 2005, and then followed by a shake-up of the industry as a whole. After 2010 China's auto market would be dominated by a handful of manufacturers.
(People's Daily November 6, 2001)
