Chinese auto brands limp into Beijing show [View all]

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In this photo taken Wednesday April 16, 2014, vehicles are parked outside a factory of SGMW, a joint venture between Chinese carmakers and General Motors in Qingdao in east China's Shandong province. China’s automakers are the underdogs heading into next week’s Beijing auto show, where foreign and domestic brands will jostle for attention in a crowded market. Facing intense competition from General Motors, Volkswagen and other global rivals, local brands such as Chery, Geely and SUV maker Great Wall have seen sales and market share shrink this year while China’s overall market grew.

Chinese auto brands limp into Beijing show
By JOE McDONALD
AP Business Writer
April 16, 2014 Updated 12 minutes ago

BEIJING — China's automakers are the underdogs heading into next week's Beijing auto show, where foreign and domestic brands will jostle for attention in a market that is increasingly difficult for homegrown models.

Facing intense competition from General Motors, Volkswagen and other global rivals, local brands such as Chery, Geely and SUV maker Great Wall have suffered shrinking sales and market share this year while China's overall auto market has grown. That is a blow to Chinese leaders who have made it a national priority to catch up with neighboring Japan and South Korea by creating globally competitive automakers.

"I am pretty pessimistic about the domestic brands," said Wang Chao, auto editor for the newspaper China Youth Daily. "They have to work even harder to win customers."

China is the world's biggest auto market, with last year's sales rising 15.7 percent from 2012 to 17.9 million vehicles. That has supported the rapid growth of Chinese brands. But it also has attracted U.S., European, Japanese and Korean automakers that have more advanced technology and are spending heavily to appeal to local tastes in a market they see as a key to their future growth.