ASEAN market a magnet for Chinese auto companies

The ASEAN market is a magnet for Chinese auto companies when going overseas, Economic Information Daily reported on Friday.

At the venue of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, 300 new energy vehicles Wuling Air ev produced by SAIC General Motors Wuling Motor Indonesia, were used as official vehicles for the meeting, providing daily commuting services for delegations and organizing committees.

This batch of new energy vehicles were manufactured locally in Indonesia and a team was established to guarantee 24-hour response services, providing high-quality green travel services for the Summit, said Tan Zhenjie, G20 project leader of SAIC General Motors Wuling Motor Indonesia.

Wuling Air ev's becoming the official vehicles of G20 Summit in Bali marked the international recognition China's new energy vehicle brands have gained after being successful in the domestic market, said Wang Pulin, the company's brand communications operations manager.

Wuling's first new energy global car, the Air ev (right rudder version), officially rolled off the assembly line in Indonesia and debuted at the Indonesia International Auto Show in August this year.

SAIC General Motors Wuling Motor Indonesia invested $1 billion in 2015 to build an automotive industrial park covering 60 hectares in West Java province of Indonesia, producing vehicles for the Indonesian and Southeast Asian markets.

Since the beginning of this year, Chinese new energy vehicle companies such as BYD, NIO, Xpeng and Wuling have accelerated their speed to go overseas and ASEAN is one of the important markets for Chinese auto companies to go overseas.

In late August, Neta officially entered the Thai market, opening stores in various locations in the country to promote and sell new energy vehicles.

The company has received over 5,000 purchase intention offers since entering into the Thai market, said Chen Bao, senior vice-director of a marketing company of Neta automobiles.

Fang Yunzhou, founder and chairman of Zhejiang Hozon New Energy Automobile Company with Neta as a brand, said the company will continue to meet the ASEAN energy transformation needs and participate in the ASEAN automobile industry.

In the first three quarters of this year, China's domestic automobile enterprises exported 2.12 million vehicles, exceeding the annual export volume of last year, with 389,000 new energy vehicles exported, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.