Over 1,000 units sold in 9 months, with the Chery being the
bestseller.
By Christopher Tan
THEY first appeared here in July last year. Now, Chinese cars are
the most popular make after the Japanese, Koreans, Germans and
Americans.
In the first nine months of the year, 1,000 cars from the Chery,
Geely and Hafei families were registered here, according to figures
just released by the Land Transport Authority.
That gives them a 1.2 per cent slice of the market - equalling or
exceeding the shares of more established brands from countries like
Malaysia, Sweden, Italy, France and Britain.
Although the Chinese cars still have a long way to go to catch up
with the Germans in No. 3 with about 7,000 cars, they could soon
match American sales of around 2,000 (largely rebadged
Daewoos).
'This is just like what the Chinese did to the consumer electronics
market,' said Mr Lee Nian Tjoe, editor of motoring magazine Torque.
'Everywhere you look these days, there are China-made DVD players,
TVs, and hi-fi's.'
The bestseller among the Chinese cars is Chery, which was first to
arrive, and which has the widest product range with five models
available.
It put 491 cars on the road in the first nine months. Geely, which
first rolled onto the road last November, is the No. 2 brand.
Despite having only one model available, it sold 397 units. Hafei
was third with 107 units.
'This is just the beginning,' said Mr Kevin Kwee, executive
director of Group Exklusiv, the group behind the Geely and Dongfeng
dealerships.
'We witnessed the phenomenon of the Japanese five decades ago, the
Koreans three decades ago,' Mr Kwee noted. 'The time it took the
Koreans to be established was much shorter than what it took the
Japanese. I am sure the Chinese will take even less time.
'In five years' time, they will be a major player.'
Indeed, trade observers reckon the Chinese and parallel imports had
eroded the sale performance of cars which were once considered top
budget choices. These include the Koreans, Malaysians as well as
base models from the Japanese, such as the Nissan Sunny.
Detractors, however, believe it is too early to gauge the success
of the Chinese brands in the long run. Durability, crashworthiness
and product recalls are some of the concerns.
Nevertheless, more Chinese brands are on their way. By this time
next year, at least five more brands from the Middle Kingdom are
expected to debut.
Meanwhile, parallel importers have brought in Japanese cars which
are surprisingly competitive, even when compared with Chinese
brands. Two of them - the Suzuki Every and Daihatsu Hijet - are
selling for less than $40,000, putting them in the same price
segment as the Chinese.
