Forecast for Chinese market shows unrelenting growth
Vehicle sales growth in the world's most populous nation is accelerating and will have an impact on the global marketAccording to the US publication, Automotive News, JD Power Automotive Forecasting expects the Chinese market to grow at a steady rate over the next four years.
As our graph shows, sales have grown rapidly up to 2006 and are expected to continue to rise. Australia's automotive market is currently enjoying record sales and, with the exception of last year, has grown steadily over time, but nothing like the Chinese market.
By comparison, the US market is a flat line and the JD Power estimates suggest there are only limited opportunities for growth there. That's why US manufacturers are looking to China and their international divisions generally, to generate growth.
The JD Power projections for China indicate that companies such as BMW, Toyota and Volkswagen will satisfy the Sino market with local production. Other companies such as GM, Honda and Mitsubishi will be net exporters (their production numbers in China outstrip their domestic Chinese sales), so they're currently exporting or intending to export some of their production from China.
Ford is the only net importer on the horizon. By 2011, JD Power estimates the Blue Oval will import around 279,025 cars into China.
Bear in mind that this is only a projection from JD Power…and a conservative one at that.
Boom times for vehicle manufacturers and importers in China may also bear fruit for Australian-based manufacturers. Holden recently exported the intellectual property for the Statesman/Caprice, which is manufactured as the Buick Park Avenue (pictured).
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