Domestic brands show off new vehicles

Although official data showed that Chinese auto brands have seen continuously dropping market share since last September, several leading Chinese automakers are striving for a breakthrough with a set of new models.

China's largest SUV and pickup manufacturer Great Wall Motor Co has brought its SUV under the Haval brand to the Guangzhou auto show, including the 7-seat Haval 9, which is the most high-end model in the Haval SUV series.

Sales of the Haval SUV reached 389,736 in the first 10 months in 2014, with 74.09 percent year-on-year growth, according to Great Wall's website.

BYD is displaying its first hybrid electric SUV called Tang in the auto show, and media reports said the Tang will hit the market in late December.

BYD has a strong advantage in new-energy vehicles due to its advanced battery technology, Gao Jian, an industry analyst at Shanghai-based consultancy LMC Automotive, told the Global Times Thursday.

Also, its hybrid electric car Qin sells well, garnering a good reputation for the brand, he noted.

The Chinese government has provided strong support to domestic-made new-energy vehicles with subsidies, but some property management companies are unwilling to help residents install charging facilities in communities, which holds customers back from purchasing new-energy vehicles, Gao said.

On October 28, the Guangzhou local government decided to give new-energy vehicle buyers a subsidy that will match the subsidy from the central government, media reports said, noting the highest subsidy is 120,000 yuan ($19,611). The price of BYD's Qin, for instance, is sold at around 200,000 yuan.

Chery Automobile Co is displaying its Arrizo 3 champion edition in the show and the sedan will go on sale from November 27, a media report said Thursday.

Chery also announced on Thursday, the media day, that it will cooperate with paipai.com, an online bidding retail website owned by e-commerce company JD.com Inc, to promote sales through both PC and mobile phones, the report said.

The combination of the auto industry with e-commerce is an inevitable trend, Zhang Zhiyong, a Beijing-based auto industry independent analyst, told the Global Times Thursday, believing that Chery has made the right choice.