Major global automakers plan to unveil dozens of new models at the Beijing auto show this weekend as foreign producers look to the surging China market to drive sales and local brands try to raise their profile following Geely's purchase of Volvo.

The biennial exhibition, which has quickly become one of the biggest and most important auto shows in the world, raises its curtains on Friday and will last till May 2, during which 990 models - with 89 making their global debut - will be displayed in a 200,000-sq-m area.

"No automaker will ignore Beijing auto show" as all the players want a share of the world's biggest auto market, said Kevin Wale, president and managing director of General Motors China Group. "We all see China as a major source of growth."

The US company, after a major restructuring at home last year, nearly doubled its sales in China in 2009. First quarter sales this year hit 620,000 units, roughly the same as the number for the whole of 2005. Its sales in China surpassed those in the US in March, as they did in the two previous months.

Wale noted that GM is on track to achieve sales of more than 2 million units in China this year, and hopes to hit 3 million units in 2015.

Ulrich Walker, chairman & CEO of Daimler Northeast Asia, said: "We know that our global success is built on deep understanding of local demand, and thus, we believe that constantly adapting to and advancing with the China market, the culture, and the expectations of customers are vital to achieving success."

Klaus Maier, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz China, said the company will continue to expand its entire product portfolio in the China market and "allow for an even more extensive selection when it comes to innovative luxury".

The German luxury brand sold 23,610 vehicles in the first quarter of 2010, marking a growth of 112 percent year on year.

About 2,100 automotive manufacturers from 16 countries or regions will participate in the show.

"More than 80 percent of the cars are purchased by first-time buyers in China, indicating that China can easily accept new products and new technologies," said Brian Link, managing director of Ernst & Young's global automotive center in Shanghai.

GM's Wale said the Beijing auto show combines both international automakers and homegrown brands, something no other global auto show can offer. "Although we have to stage our products together with domestic rivals, competition is good for the market and development of the industry."

China's fledgling automakers are showcasing their ambitions to expand into global markets.

Geely Holding Group, a 13-year-old brand barely known abroad before it agreed in March to buy Sweden's Volvo from Ford for US$1.8 billion, is showing 55 of its own models, including 11 new vehicles.

Geely says it hopes to boost sales this year by 22 percent over 2009 to 400,000 units.

Other Chinese producers plan to unveil a total of 64 new models, according to organizers.

China overtook the US as the world's top automobile market last year, with more than 13 million vehicles sold, and is expected to continue the strong growth in the next decade.

Domestic vehicle sales in the first quarter hit 4.61 million units, up 72 percent from last year, according to figures released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Buoyed by the figures, 50 senior executives from both foreign and domestic players have raised their estimate of the average annual auto sales growth in China to 20 percent till 2015, up from 10 percent, according to a study by the global business-advisory firm AlixPartners.

(China Daily April 23, 2010)