Beijing auto show starts up

China's self-developed vehicle brands are presenting more attractive designs and marketing at this year's Beijing auto show compared to previous events, so as to compete with booming joint venture brands, analysts said Sunday.

The 2014 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, held from Sunday to April 29, is widely seen as a major auto show in China.

Self-developed brands such as Hongqi and BYD are showcasing many new features and highlights at this auto show, all expecting to enhance their recognition and influence through this platform, Cui Dongshu, deputy secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, told the Global Times Sunday.

A number of self-developed new cars and advanced concept vehicles were released at the event, which can help cheer up the gloomy market of self-developed brands, said Cui.

Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that the share of the domestic self-owned brands in the country's passenger car sales was down to 39.3 percent in March, declining for seven consecutive months.

Domestic self-owned brands have long been performing flat for lack of innovation, and the aggressive JV brands in China, backed by foreign car makers in design and technology, have posed big threats, Su Hui, deputy director of the auto market division at the China Automobile Dealers Association, told the Global Times Sunday.

Anhui-based carmaker Chery took the biggest hit. It sold 90,600 cars in the first quarter of this year, which was a 36.5 percent year-on-year decline, said a report by industry Web portal auto.gasgoo.com on Tuesday.

The company has put more efforts into technological innovation in recent years, which analysts said are aimed at elevating its brand recognition and then sales.

Chery put two brand-new concept cars on display during the auto show to generate more confidence in the company's technology capacity.

Cui noted that the rivalry between self-owned brands and JV brands will become even fiercer in the future, because the latter are diversifying their product range in the medium- and high-end segments and give more consideration to price-sensitive Chinese consumers.

Hongqi L5

The FAW Group launched its premiere new luxury model Hongqi L5 at the show, designed to rival Mercedes-Benz S class and Audi A8. Hongqi cars were the first domestically produced Chinese passenger vehicles.

"I was surprised to know the company planned to price Hongqi L5 at 5 million yuan ($803,277)," Cui Dongshu said, adding that the price is too high for individual consumers, who can choose foreign brands at the same price.

He expected the car to be sold for 1 million yuan, predicting that the model with such a high price tag will be mainly used for brand building in the high-end segment.

Haval H2

Great Wall Motor Co launched eight Haval SUV models during the Beijing auto show.

Haval H2 is said to be the first domestic SUV that can be personalized. The company announced that the model hit the market at the show for a price of 105,800 yuan.

Analysts said that Great Wall's SUV series in China performed well in recent years, as more and more domestic consumers prefer SUVs, and foreign brands are still focused on sedan sales.

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China saw 2.99 million units of SUVs sold in 2013, up 49.41 percent year-on-year.

SUVs from Germany, Japan and South Korea still held a major share of the market.

BYD Tang

Senzhen-based electric car producer BYD launched its new hybrid SUV "Tang" at the Beijing auto show.

The new model boasts an acceleration rate of 0-100 kilometers per hour in 4.9 seconds.

The Tang SUV is powered by a dual mode hybrid-drive system linking a gasoline engine to an electric motor.

Su Hui said that hybrid car is trendy and suitable to China's situation.

However, the power supply of hybrid cars is still a problem that will take time to be fixed, he noted.

In March, BYD reportedly sold 877 units of its Qin hybrid sedans, which debuted in December. The sales of the model ranks No.1 among all new energy vehicles in the market.