It used to be just Frankfurt, Geneva, Paris, Tokyo and Detroit. But now Beijing is coming up to the same level.
The 10th Beijing International Automotive Exhibition opened on Sunday April 20, 2008. 600 000 visitors are expected in comparison with 715 000 in Geneva.
In all, almost 900 vehicles were launched, including 55 concept cars. This makes it considerably bigger than the Shanghai show with which the biannual Beijing event now alternates.
The second biggest vehicle market in the world registered 8.8 million sales in 2007 (5.5m of which were cars) and in 2008 many experts predict a final tally of 10 million. There’s more growth to come too.
The world’s auto component makers are also taking an active and growing role in the Chinese market. Lighting and driver assistance suppliers including Valeo, Hella, AL, Osram, Koito, Stanley, Ichikoh, and Philips all operate significant facilities in China. The production from these Chinese plants is no longer merely cut-price versions of Western designs, but includes increasing amounts of original engineering and design as well as quality control for the Chinese and export markets.