Steadily climbing Australian sales is the first indication of the progression of China's automotive march into our car market. The first major Chinese make in Australia, Great Wall Motors, has sold a solid 5561 commercial and SUV vehicles in this year to October 30. In perspective, that's each more than Jeep, Lexus, Peugeot and Volvo.
Great Wall next year adds more bricks to its market share with a diesel engine for its V-series utes and X-series (third quarter 2011); a face-lift for each series around mid-year; and a small car - in manual and auto - in the fourth quarter.
The biggest private car-maker in China, Chery, starts selling passenger cars and a small SUV in Australia from March 2011. These will be imported by Sydney-based Ateco Automotive.
Chery will first launch the J11 small SUV and then the J1 small car, before the J3 compact car - in manual and automatic - in the second quarter of 2011. The emergence of the Baojun brand - which appears to come from nowhere - is the second indication of the momentum of a vehicle industry building behind China's borders.
China makes about 1.3 million vehicles a month from 74 car makers. Most are joint ventures with global partners - GM, Volkswagen, Toyota and Nissan are amongst the biggest - and are prohibited from exporting.
To ensure profits from car sales flow back into Chinese hands, only private and government-owned factories are permitted to export. The Hong Kong-listed and semi-government owned public company Great Wall Motors is to expand its foundation of commercial vehicles with passenger cars in 2011.
WA-based John Hughes - who started the Hyundai ball rolling in Australia - has pledged Geely small cars from January. The Isuzu Rodeo-derived JMC Landwind, which famously failed some crash tests, was the first Chinese vehicle to be exported to Europe in 2005.
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