Typical Chinese?
After its early spring gathering at the Geneva Motorshow in March the auto industry had another major meeting in Beijing, just one and a half months later. What a contrast to the setting in Switzerland, though!
The Chinese car makers have succeeded in giving an impressive demonstration of their capabilities, as never seen before. Several “green” concepts let us think that the vehicle manufacturers from the mainland have made a step forward in technological development. A closer look at their vehicles shows that they have achieved improvements regarding the quality of workmanship. What’s more, a wealth of new models proves that the Chinese car manufacturers have learned to design really attractive cars – at least in the eyes of the Western (taste influenced) beholder.
While the Chinese independent vehicle makers clearly are trying to raise their credibility on the international scene, the foreign Joint Venture manufacturers seem to focus increasingly on the Chinese market: A new brand was launched and several new medium sized models were presented, which were specifically designed for the Chinese market. This underlines the importance of China and supports the idea that the mainland is more and more considered a market with specific characteristics, which may eventually result in a fourth major distinctive automotive pole, besides the US, Europe and Japan.
Then, what are the particular aspects to be taken into consideration to attract Chinese consumers? Looking at the newly launched models that are specifically conceived for consumers on the mainland, the foreign JV manufacturers still bank on sedan-styled vehicles. They apply the principle of “Zhong Yong” – the traditional value of balance without extremes – resulting in a moderate and not necessarily very fashionable design. These cars are supposed to target rather conservative consumers (still a majority of car buyers in China today), but will most probably not succeed in attracting the new emerging group of consumers – young, and looking for modern, trendy designs.
Regarding the vehicle interior – an important area of consideration for Chinese car buyers – the JV developed new cars appear to respond well to consumer needs: equipment is preferred to be functional and simple, while the entire interior is supposed to offer space and reflect a sense of “DaQi” (grandeur).
The China-designed cars are comparably cheap. It is true that low priced cars from renowned JV brands offer an attractive value for money and will surely meet a considerable potential in the market. “Value for money” is currently the perceived strength of Chinese car makers, and offering aggressively priced vehicles with a supposedly higher quality is a plausible strategy of JV brands to counter the market positioning of independent domestic car brands.
So what does specifically designed for China mean? At present it seems to be the “package” of moderate exterior and uncomplicated interior wrapped into an attractive price. But will this be the success formula for JV manufacturers to seek more independence from their foreign partners, and take a stand against Chinese domestic brands in the long term?
Klaus Paur
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