Competition hots up for SUV sales

Описание: (25 Apr 2016) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4033122

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China's growing love of SUVs is helping to keep the country's car market afloat with sales of other vehicles slowing.
SUV sales soared 52 percent last year and the increased competition among manufacturers is evident at this week's Beijing Auto Show.

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Driving a new future for SUV sales in China. Ford is the latest vehicle manufacturer to try and gain the upper hand in the battle over SUV sales.
Showcasing its line-up at the Beijing Auto Show, Ford is rolling out SUVs of all sizes, including the new Kuga model.
Ford's President, Mark Fields says: "This is the start of our next chapter."
Ford says it sold more than 1.1 million cars in China in 2015 and sport utility vehicle (SUV) sales were up 13 percent compared to 2014.
"So we offer customers SUV option in every segment across the market. SUVs, as many people know, are becoming a even bigger piece in Chinese market. There are over 32 percent of Chinese market in the fourth quarter of last year and they are big parts of what we make in Ford motor company," says John Lawler, Chairman and CEO of Ford Motor China.
Ford offers SUVs of all sizes to the Chinese market, including Ecosport, Kuga, Edge, Explorer and Everest.
Ford says it sold 32,290 SUVs in December, up 56 percent compared to December 2014.
China's love affair with SUVs is helping to cushion the blow of an unexpectedly painful slump in the rest of its crowded auto market.
Sales of SUVs, seen as the safest option on China's rough, chaotic roads, soared 52 percent last year.
That helped the overall market grow 7.3 percent — a sliver of its 45 percent peak in 2009 — even though car and minivan sales sagged.
Scrambling for a piece of that action, automakers from all over the world are making SUVs the star of this month's Beijing auto show - the biggest of the year in the biggest auto market.
Haval, a SUV maker affiliated to Chinese homegrown brand Great Wall rolled out its latest SUV model H7 this year.
Havel is China's best-selling SUV brand and says it has sold more than 1 million Haval H6 SUVs.
Chinese brands account for 65 percent of SUVs sold, dominating the market's lowest tiers, where profits are slim.
Most Chinese automakers have left behind the days of quirky and bargain-priced but poor-quality vehicles.
They have invested heavily in technology and brought in Western designers to create sleek models that could be mistaken for Japanese or Korean brands.
"You know competition is something that every brand has to live with, nobody should be afraid and I think it is an interesting time here in China, what decision we are making right now. I would say we are doing well, we are improving little by little every day as the slogan of the company is saying. I think in quality, in fit and finish, we are doing a lot of improvement, we are investing a lot in R&D (research and development) as well," says Pierre Leclercq, Vice President and Director of Haval's Design Center.
Automakers are encouraged by the fact that China's overall vehicle ownership rates still are low compared with developed countries.
China has 172 million cars and 280 million licensed drivers, according to government data.
That is the equivalent of 13 cars for every 100 people, well below the U.S. level of 80 vehicles per 100 people.
The Beijing Auto Show runs from April 25 to May 4, 2016.


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