Year in Review: Maturing, multifaceted

The BMW 5 Series sedan was the first China-made luxury export. [Photo/China Daily]

China luxury exports

Foreign carmakers began using Chinese production facilities to meet demand from other markets years ago, but now premium car manufacturers are testing the possibility of exporting their China-made vehicles.

At the end of last year, BMW became the first foreign luxury carmaker to export cars made at its joint venture in China when it began shipping a small number of long-wheelbase 5 Series sedan overseas to markets in the Middle East and Asia.

In January, Mercedes-Benz began export of its long-wheelbase E-Class sedans to South America to test demand for the stretched vehicle initially tailor-made to Chinese preferences.

Analysts said the efforts make sense as multinational carmakers move to better allocate resources worldwide and use increasing capacity in China.

Historic brand revival Beijing-based BAIC Motor revived the Beijing brand for passenger cars by launching a subcompact last month, three decades after the previous incarnation rolled off the production line.

Historic brands are seeing a resurgence in the wake of the government's strong desire to boost homegrown brands.

Hongqi, or Red Flag, a now-legendary car for national leaders made by FAW Group, will debut a new model at the Beijing auto show.

It is the latest effort to revitalize the brand after failed attempts in the 1990s and a decade later.

Equally well known is the Shanghai brand, which could be reborn at SAIC Motor.

It was listed in a catalog of new auto models compiled by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in January, but the company declined to offer further information.

All-new JV nameplates

In the past 12 months, several new, local brands by Sino-foreign joint ventures have been developed to tap the entry level, low-priced market.

Honda's joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group launched the Everus S1 at last year's Shanghai Auto Show at prices ranging from 70,000 to 100,000 yuan. In August, a small family car with the new nameplate Baojun by General Motors' three-way tie up SAIC-GM-Wuling went on sale priced at less than 80,000 yuan.

The Venucia D50, developed by the joint venture between Nissan and Dongfeng, recently began booking pre-sale orders at prices from 70,000 to 90,000 yuan.

Media reports say that Honda's joint venture with Dongfeng will also debut the new brand Cimmo at the Beijing Auto Show, likely priced below 100,000 yuan.

Other carmakers including Volkswagen and BMW plan to take a different approach by making new energy vehicles under their joint venture-owned brands.