BMW Demand in China to Surpass US in 2013
BMW expects demand for its vehicles in China to outstrip U.S. demand this year.
That’s already the case through the first six months, with U.S. deliveries falling behind the massive Asian country. Now the Bavarian luxury brand is forecasting another 10 percent hike in Chinese sales before the end of the year as demand for the mid-size 5 Series sedan grows.
“Strong growth in future will come from the smaller cities, and the strong growth will also come especially from the western region,” Karsten Engel, head of BMW’s business in China, said to Bloomberg. “There are 100 cities with more than a million inhabitants in China with no premium car dealers at all, so this shows the huge potential we’re having in this country.”
He went on to forecast that the Chinese premium car market will grow by seven percent this year.
But luxury sales aren’t the only area where Chinese auto sales are booming. General Motors also just announced that China is also its largest market — big news from a member of the Detroit 3. Domestic Buick sales are slow, but Chinese buyers can’t seem to get enough of the b-list luxury brand so many Americans spurn.
With similar percentage gains to BMW, General Motors saw deliveries increase 10.6 percent in the first six months of 2013.
[Source: Automotive News]
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Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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