In what could be a Chinese-German Cinderella story Shanghai Volkswagen exhibited its new concept car the Neeza at the Beijing 2006 International Automotive Exhibition, which ended Sunday.

A model poses next to a Shanghai Volkswagen Neeza prototype at the Beijing Auto Show, November 22, 2006. [AP Photo]

The inspiration for the Neeza design comes from the image of the Ne Zha, a boy-god in Chinese mythology. The car's interior, exterior and even wheels are considered to have a Chinese look.

The concept of the concept car from the Chinese-German joint venture gets to the heart of its China strategy think locally to sell locally.

The 50-50 joint venture by Volkswagen and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp is currently boosting its own development capability instead of simply introducing models from the foreign side of the operation.

In the past, all of Shanghai Volkswagen's products came straight from Volkswagen and lacked characteristics attractive to Chinese buyers. As a result, sales were weak over the previous two years.

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