Passion for SUVs

Spectators to the auto show this year might get an impression that Chinese consumers are obsessed by big, tall SUVs.

Almost every carmaker, both in the luxury and mass-market segments, is displaying the brawny vehicles.

Even super luxury brands Bentley, Maserati and Lamborghini are bringing SUV concept vehicles to Beijing. Mainstream luxury carmakers like Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz all have SUV displays and have started local production of SUVs in China.

Nissan announced three days before the auto show that it will produce cars by its luxury brand Infiniti in China at the joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Corp starting from 2014. The company didn't specify the models to be made in China, but market observers believe that there's a good chance the carmaker will build its FX series SUVs here.

In the non-luxury segment, SUVs on show include the Ford Kuga, Mazda CX-5, Buick Encore, Citroen C4 Aircross. Domestic carmakers Geely and Chang'an are debuting their first-ever SUVs.

In all, about 30 new SUV models are expected to join the marketplace this year to cash in on the booming segment.

"In terms of love for the SUV, China is becoming more like the US," said Zeng Zhiling, director of LMC Automotive Asia Pacific Forecasting.

CAAM statistics shows that China's SUV sales last year totaled nearly 1.6 million units, an increase of 20 percent from 2010.

Industry analysts forecast that the passion is likely to continue for the next five years as more families buy a second car. But Zeng warned that as fuel prices rise, sales of the big gas guzzlers might weaken after 2015, similar to the situation in Europe today.

New energy

Just five days before the opening of the auto show, China's State Council adopted an industry development plan on energy-saving and new-energy vehicles.

The plan sets a production and sales target of 500,000 all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2015 and more than 5 million by 2020.

The plan also calls for average fuel consumption in passenger cars produced in 2015 to be reduced to 6.9 liters per 100 km and to 5 liters per 100 km in 2010.

Some 88 new-energy vehicles will appear at the Beijing Auto Show, according to organizers.

Toyota, together with its joint ventures and luxury unit Lexus, is showcasing 50 models at the event, about a third of them hybrid or electric vehicles.

Well-known for its successful gasoline-hybrid Prius, especially in the US, the Japanese carmaker is about to localize its latest energy-saving technology in China and has a long-term plan for hybrids to account for 20 percent of its sales in the country.

Honda is bringing its CR-Z and Insight hybrid vehicles to the show, both of which will be imported to China later this year. The company also plans to build an electric Fit at its joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group by the end of this year.

And domestic carmakers have no intention of being overshadowed by their foreign competitors in the field.

SAIC Motor is displaying the Roewe 550 plug-in hybrid that will be put into volume production this year. The pure-electric Roewe E50, which making its first public appearance, is also expected to be produced within the year.

BYD, the Shenzhen-based battery and car maker backed by Warren Buffett, has high expectations for its second-generation F3DM dual-mode electric vehicle.

The car named Qin after China's first imperial dynasty can be powered solely with electricity or driven in hybrid mode.

It has a battery pack only half the weight of the previous generation and can accelerate from zero to 100 km in 6.9 seconds while using an average of 16 yuan worth of fuel per100 km, which is about the cost of 2 liters of gasoline in China today.

The carmaker's joint venture with Daimler AG is displaying its first show car under the Denza brand in Beijing. The all-electric vehicle is set to hit the market next year.

Contact the writers at [email protected] and [email protected]