Further growth expected for auto industry

The Denza pure-electric car developed by Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co Ltd, which made its global debut at the Beijing Auto Show in April, is a prime example of the fruitful cooperation between Germany and Chinese automakers on sustainable mobility. [Provided to China Daily]

German players to continue increasing commitment to 'important market'

In recent years no other country has enjoyed such rapid automotive growth as China.

Since 2000, the country's passenger vehicle market has expanded almost thirty-fold - from 614,000 units to more than 16.3 million new cars in 2013. This accounted for more than one fifth of the global market. And the market volume in China has almost trebled just since the year 2008.

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This dynamic process is accompanied by significant growth in the gross domestic product, a rising standard of living and huge expansion of road infrastructure.

Furthermore, the average age of the Chinese population is 37, which makes the Chinese on average nine years "younger" than the Germans.

China's example shows that people's desire for individual mobility, for a car of their own, is found in all cultures on all continents.

The level of motorization in China is still relatively low. Passenger vehicle density is 52 units per 1,000 residents. For comparison, in Germany it is 543 cars per 1,000 people.

Last year the Chinese passenger vehicle market grew by 23 per cent. Demand was also keen at the beginning of this year and car sales in the first five months showed a year-on-year increase of 15 per cent to 7.4 million units.

We expect that the Chinese passenger vehicle market will expand by 15 per cent to 18.7 million units during 2014. The total will then be 6.7 million units more than the Western European market.

The strong competitiveness of the German automotive industry is underscored by the fact that it has kept up with the high speed of developments in China and continues to be successful there.