Car horns are used 40 times more often in China than in Europe. That was one of the lessons French carmaker RSA Peugeout Citroën had to learn when it expanded in China.
Chinese Fords sound different from the softer, often dual, trumpet sound of their North American equivalents, whose drivers are "tuned to frequencies that are not unpleasant, but are just slightly discordant", she wrote.
Cars don't sell in China if they are not made to suit Chinese driving habits, foreign carmakers have learned, as they try to expand in the world's largest car market. "The major question is how to adapt to Chinese consumers," said Klaus Paur, Global Head of Automotive at Ipsos.
Lebelle's China Tech Centre employs 400 engineers to adapt its French cars to the Chinese market. The carmaker plans to increase its headcount of engineers, designers and technicians to 1,000, according to its website.
