High petrol price fails to deter buying interest
Sales increases of 25.8 per cent at SAIC Motor Corp and 30 per cent at Ford China last year indicate mid-sized cars will retain their market appeal, despite high petrol prices and efforts to promote small 'green' cars.
SAIC remains the largest carmaker in the country with sales of 1.69 million vehicles last year, up from 1.34 million in 2006.
The company sold more than 16,000 units of the Roewe 750, a mid-priced car launched last year. It plans to introduce 30 own-brand cars in the next five years, producing 50,000 units a year initially.
Ford sold 216,324 vehicles last year, up 29.75 per cent from 166,722 in 2006. Its mid-sized Focus model was a sales driver.
'The recent oil price surge should, theoretically, lead to higher demand for small-engine cars,' Fitch Ratings analyst Matthew Kong said. 'But it's not significant enough to change Chinese consumers' habits of buying larger-engine cars, because China's oil price does not fully reflect the international level.'
Mr Kong believes global carmakers will continue to follow the demand trend by supplying mid-sized cars in the short term to sustain higher sales and profits.
