Growth in China's auto market has slowed sharply in the past year but the passenger car sector is expected to continue expan-ding, market research firm ACNielsen said in a statement yesterday.
"Prospects for the auto market [overall] are not expected to improve in 2005 but we see potential for growth in the passenger car sector," ACNielsen director of automotive research Philippe Coquelle said.
Its survey of 2,500 consumers in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou found that the percentage of households owning a car and those with plans of purchasing one in the near future had increased.
The percentage of those intending to buy a car rose to 9 percent from 6 percent last year, ACNielsen said.
Beijing currently ranks highest in private car ownership, with 22 percent of respondents claiming to own a car after a gain of 11 percentage points from last year.
The level of ownership rose to 14 percent in Guangzhou, up 9 points over last year, while in Shanghai it totalled 8 percent, up 4 points, the report said.
In China overall, supply exceeds demand and as a result potential buyers have cut their budget by 18 percent to 135,000 yuan (US$16,300) from 165,000 yuan last year, ACNielsen said in the statement.
In terms of financing, only 12 percent of those surveyed said they would use bank loans to buy a car, down 8 points from the previous report in 2003.
Some 70 percent of potential buyers in China will pay cash, it said.
Value for money remains a key consideration for potential buyers, but they are becoming more selective in terms of car performance as the number of brands and models increases.
Increased competition has seen the market share of leading brands such as Shanghai Volkswagen and First Automotive Works drop, while the likes of Guangzhou Honda and Dongfeng Citroen have increased their presence.
CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday released the first video documenting the submerged sea trials of Taiwan’s indigenous defense submarine prototype, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, showing underwater navigation and the launch of countermeasures. The footage shows the vessel’s first dive, steering and control system tests, and the raising and lowering of the periscope and antenna masts. It offered a rare look at the progress in the submarine’s sea acceptance tests. The Hai Kun carried out its first shallow-water diving trial late last month and has since completed four submerged tests, CSBC said. The newly released video compiles images recorded from Jan. 29 to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to make advanced 3-nanometer chips in Japan, stepping up its semiconductor manufacturing roadmap in the country in a triumph for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s technology ambitions. TSMC is to adopt cutting-edge technology for its second wafer fab in Kumamoto, company chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. That is an upgrade from an original blueprint to produce 7-nanometer chips by late next year, people familiar with the matter said. TSMC began mass production at its first plant in Japan’s Kumamoto in late 2024. Its second fab, which is still under construction, was originally focused on
DETERRENCE EFFORTS: Washington and partners hope demonstrations of force would convince Beijing that military action against Taiwan would carry high costs The US is considering using HMAS Stirling in Western Australia as a forward base to strengthen its naval posture in a potential conflict with China, particularly over Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. As part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Washington plans to deploy up to four nuclear-powered submarines at Stirling starting in 2027, providing a base near potential hot spots such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. The move also aims to enhance military integration with Pacific allies under the Australia-UK-US trilateral security partnership, the report said. Currently, US submarines operate from Guam, but the island could
EMERGING FIELDS: The Chinese president said that the two countries would explore cooperation in green technology, the digital economy and artificial intelligence Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday called for an “equal and orderly multipolar world” in the face of “unilateral bullying,” in an apparent jab at the US. Xi was speaking during talks in Beijing with Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi, the first South American leader to visit China since US special forces captured then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro last month — an operation that Beijing condemned as a violation of sovereignty. Orsi follows a slew of leaders to have visited China seeking to boost ties with the world’s second-largest economy to hedge against US President Donald Trump’s increasingly unpredictable administration. “The international situation is fraught
RSS