Freep Has An Epiphany: "China Surpasses U.S. As Top Vehicle Market"
In January 2009, China surpassed the USA as the world’s largest car market. Since then, the gap had widened month after month. While China is clocking in near triple digit growth rates, US sales are still down. Even GM’s Henderson believes that China will stay ahead of the USA for quite some times. “It’s not a blip,” Henderson said to AFP. Now, eleven months later, the news transpired to the Freep.
Funnily, they learned it at a conference of real estate developers, an unimpeachable source of reliable information. “China surpasses U.S. as top vehicle market” trumpeted the Freep yesterday, as if it’s news.
At the conference, the executive of a Chinese industrial real-estate developer said that the Chinese “are expected to buy as many as 50 million new cars and trucks a year by 2020.” That little tidbit (if the prediction will come true, China will buy three times as many cars as the USA in its 17m SAAR heydays, and the peak oil faction will suffer a coronary) remained uncommented. Apparently, when the Freep found out that China had passed the US of A, the paper became speechless.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
More by Bertel Schmitt
Comments
Join the conversation
Yep. If you want to make money, you sell them in China or you're a dummy. People in the United States holding onto their used paid off cars / trucks / gas guzzling SUV. Well, most people anyway (sold my old Honda).
China is also facing a population bubble. long term projections based on the currently VERY productive population (that is only getting older) may be a bit... misguided.
The Chinese population bubble is a myth China is looking quite healthy compared to Japan or Germany .
Sorry for the mess above. The editing function does not work. All I see is a white box ...