‘Chaoyang Chariot’ has become the car of choice for rich citizens in China

Chinese sales of sport utility vehicles rose by 100% last year.
According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, there were 1.326 Million SUVs sold in China last year which marks a rise of 101% on the year before. From the 5 Million cars sold in the first quarter of this year in China 395,000 were SUVs, which is a jump of 47% on the previous year.

Imported cars remain prohibitively expensive even for the new rich in China but the success of joint venture car making projects means that affordable local versions are available. The ten most popular SUV models in 2010 were all locally produced and six of these were foreign brands.

The Toyota Land Cruiser Prado was the best selling imported SUV in 2010 with 36,891 units sold. Last year, the Honda CR-V was the biggest seller moving 140,000 units.

Beijinger Yuan Li who studied in Japan before setting up a design company loves his grey BMW X6, as does his actress wife.

Beijinger Yuan Li said; “I love my SUV, it’s big, convenient and powerful. I can easily drive it to the countryside or sometimes I can drive it on road trips far away. Before the SUV came to China, commercial cars were for businessmen. I used to own an Audi A4, but things have changed. You don’t need to be a businessman driving a boring business car; you can drive cars with some personality like an SUV.

“I think SUVs are cooler than normal cars. They have a double function; you can use it for business meetings and for fun. A lot of young businessmen like me prefer SUVs to ordinary cars, especially at my age. I also love sport cars, but they’re a bit too much.” he added.

Although owners mention rising petrol prices; the increase in the price of gasoline in China in recent months does not seem to have depressed the demand for the gas-guzzling cars. Petrol prices are under government control in China and are kept at levels which are manageable for most motorists.

The bicycle long ago gave way to the car in Beijing but the most visible growth area in the booming auto industry is reserved for the SUVs – the Chaoyang Chariot.

In Beijing, demand is slowing because of a government initiative to cool the car market to help to address pollution and traffic issues and new license plates are being rationed. This means that the rise in the number of SUVs bought in China this year will probably slow down, but it is still forecast to be around 22% more than the numbers sold last year.

However, the broader feeling remains that now is China’s time to own cars such as the luxury SUV. Zhang Hongli, 32 who comes from Hubei and is the marketing manager of a publishing company, also owns a white Volkswagen Tiguan, she said; “I just bought the Tiguan two months ago. I spent long time thinking about it and then I decided to go for it. I’ve loved SUVs for the longest time, they really are so beautiful. I love going out and owning a SUV makes it convenient for me to go wherever I want, including Tibet.”

At the Shanghai Auto Show this year; there were 20 new models of SUV on offer and some of the world’s biggest car companies such as the GM Envision and the Audi Q3 debuted their marques in Shanghai. Car ownership is a potent symbol of China’s expanding wealth and the country overtook the United States as the world’s biggest auto market two years ago.

Jia Xinguang researches the car market in China and for him; the SUV has been a game-changer in China altering the culture. “You can buy an SUV here and people do not think of you negatively as a rich man,” he said. “This is an important difference.”

Homegrown SUVs which retail for around 100,000 yuan or £10,000 are proving particularly popular. Car analyst Zhong Shi believes the cheaper SUVs have fed into a strong aspirational need in the new China.

“People love these cars, envy these cars, but can’t afford them,” he said. “So when the cheaper SUVs appeared, they fed this desire. They have a similar appearance, but are much different in terms of quality.

“It’s like the way a lot of people buy those fake luxury-brand items,” Zhong added. “Anyway, it’s a clever move by the local producers, finding this market space and this is why the SUV market has been so hot in recent years.”

The next step is to start exporting Chinese SUVs. Although the Chinese brands have struggled in safety and quality tests, Chinese manufacturers are quick learners. Landwind is eyeing the British market and Great Wall has Britain firmly in its sights. It plans to enter the US market by 2015, Great Wall’s chief executive, Wang Fengying, recently told Automotive News China. “We are in the process of implementing the plan,” and the group plans to launch its Haval brand there. The group has already spoken to a number of distributors and the company already sells vehicles in Australia, Italy and a number of emerging markets.

China’s top-selling SUVs are: Honda CR-V, Great Wall Haval H, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Highlander, Hawtai-Hyundai Santa Fe, VW Tiguan, Zotye 5008, Kia Sportage, Chery Tiggoand Hyundai ix35.