#ChinaMarket

The booming Chinese automotive market has been good to General Motors, with Chinese sales surpassing sales figures in the U.S.

Despite having made impressive jumps in recent years, the Chinese automotive industry is believed to still be a decade away from being globally competitive.

Despite the majority of auto manufacturers reporting record sales and earnings this year thanks to a healthy Chinese market, the future in China may not be as bright as it was in 2011.

General Motors was happy to report that their sales in China during November rose at its fastest pace all year, thanks to deliveries of Wuling light trucks and Buick Excelle sedans. Deliveries to dealers in China last month rose 20-percent (to 237,130) compared to a year ago.

GM’s Chinese-market passenger van, the Chevrolet Move N300, is suffering from slow commercial sales. Seeing a potential market for export, the ever-so-resourceful American automaker has decided to deliver 5,000 of these Chinese complete-knock-down van kits to Egypt. While Egyptian import duties has made building vehicles in North America difficult, CKD kits (Complete Knock Down) provides automakers the ability to legally bypass these regulations operations.

While currently operating brands Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Wuling in China, the very first China division GM crossover, the Buick Envision, will come to market next year, according to a report from the Beijing Times Newspaper.

For the past decade, China’s economy has continued to expand with little sign of slowing down. Volkswagen took advantage of an opportunity to continue offering its past models such as the Volkswagen “Jetta King” (Mk2 Jetta), the Volkswagen Bora Classic (Mk4 Jetta), as well as various Audi vehicles in the Chinese market in order to optimize its foothold.

The Chinese-luxury market segment is continue to grow at an exponential rate. Many new-age Chinese entrepreneurs are affluent and distinguished, looking towards enjoying the finer things in life, which naturally includes automobiles. Many luxury vehicle owners are working hard in penetrating the market in China. Even Porsche debuted the Panamera in Shanghai, knowing how important luxury sedans are to the affluent Chinese. Interestingly enough, French auto manufacturer Citroen is focusing on this segment and attempting to beat out the luxury German manufacturers.