They Are Starving Back In China - For Luxury Cars

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Premium cars are a hard sell? Not in China. The Chinese developed a ravenous appetite for Germany’s luxury brands. In January, all three German premium makes, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes, more than doubled their sales, reports Das Autohaus.

Leader of the luxo-pack is Audi with 16.798 units sold in January in China, up 115 percent compared to January 2009.

Mercedes increased its Chinese sales in January by 146.6 percent: 8.400 units sold.

BMW sold 11,919 BMWs and Minis in the Middle Kingdom, 122 percent more than in the year before. For the first time in recorded history, BMW sold more than 10,000 cars a month in China.

January promises to be another record month in China. Most brands report record sales. With 219,192 verhicles sold, the combined GM joint ventures are up 97 percent from a year earlier, Gasgoo reports. Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen, Chang’an Ford, and Chery, all report record sales.

Official data on total vehicle sales for January are due next week, but the China Passenger Car Association figures that China’s passenger car sales rose 84 per cent in January.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

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
4 of 19 comments
  • Bertel Schmitt Bertel Schmitt on Feb 06, 2010

    Yes, Lexus is in China. I am not in a position to comment on differences of perception.

  • Tstag Tstag on Feb 06, 2010

    The Chinese are buying a lot of imported Range Rover's now. Bearing in mind the huge amount of tax on them, their figures are even more impressive than the likes of BMW who make cars in China.

  • Buckshot Buckshot on Feb 06, 2010

    You have to be jealous at the germans. If you have a new Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche, you´re telling the neighbors that you´ve made it. Those cars are not always better then other marques, but somehow they´re more desirable. The germans are aware of this, and they make you pay.

  • L'avventura L'avventura on Feb 06, 2010

    It's not surprising, and its not just with automotive brands. China is expected to become the largest market for luxury goods like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, etc. Chinese tourists were what Japanese tourist were in the 80s, they tend to spend freely on their many vacations.

Next