Japan carmakers turn on charm at Guangzhou Auto Show

Guangzhou Auto Show got underway in China's southern metropolis. And after a couple of turbulent months for China-Japan relations, Japanese carmakers - the likes of Toyota, Honda and Nissan - are pulling out all the stops to boost their popularity.

Zheng Junfeng said, "Welcome to the Guangzhou Auto Show, your last chance this year to see so many different cars in one place. Hundreds of them… and they present a mini-nature of the massive Chinese car market, with annual sales this year expected to hit 19 million units."

Guangzhou is a key manufacturing hub for the top three Japanese brands, Toyota, Honda and Nissan. So inevitably, a question is raised on this year's event. How these firms are faring the current harsh market environment.

Zheng Junfeng said, "We see a big presence of Japanese brands. Every knows it's a bad time for them. Their sales in September and October were halved, because of well-known reasons. We are at the booth of Nissan. Their executives reiterated their commitment to the Chinese market.

Ren Yong, vice-president of Dongfeng Nissan, said, "I believe that as long as we focus on consumers' best interest, and make our very best effort, consumers will recognize our work and our market will grow."

Toyota is also trying hard. It occupies 4500 square meters of display area, the biggest among the top three Japanese brands, and the biggest in its own history of attending the Guangzhou Auto Show. But now, sales in the first 10 months just managed to match the same level of last year. What the company can do, is cutting prices.

Feng Xingya, exec. vice-president of Guangqi Toyota Automobile, said, "In order to maintain sales, we have been cutting prices of our products since October. I think now is the best time to make purchases as prices are the lowest in a year. It will be a good bargain."

Is now a good time to buy Japanese brand cars in China? Will consumers calm down and be more rational? History may give us some hints, but only time can tell what would really happen this time.