Industry gearing up for Chengdu Motor Show

Global automakers were out in full force at last year's Chengdu Motor Show. This year the event will host 102 brands and a projected 680,000 visitors. [Photo/China Daily]

Adding more fuel to the surging market in western China, the 17th Chengdu Motor Show will run from Aug 29 to Sept 7 at the Century City New International Convention and Exhibition Center in the capital city of Sichuan province.

One of the top four auto shows in the nation, this year's event will fill all nine halls and the outdoor zone at the exhibition center, a record total display area of 150,000 sq m.

The annual event is jointly organized by Hannover Milano Fairs Shanghai Ltd and Century City New International Convention & Exhibition Center Ltd.

According to organizers, 102 auto brands will join the industry gala, which is expected to attract more than 680,000 visitors.

Mercedes-Benz will have the biggest exhibition area, some 2,400 sq m, followed in size by BMW, Audi, Chang'an Ford, Dongfeng Yueda Kia and Dongfeng Nissan with about 2,000 sq m.

Fifteen brands including Buick, Chevrolet, FAW-Volkswagen and Jaguar Land Rover will each have 1,500 sq m exhibitions.

Such big investment in the Chengdu Motor Show signals the high value carmakers place on western China, organizers said.

As growth in the crowded eastern market slows, the vast western region has become crucial to the strategic vision of carmakers from both home and abroad.

In the past eight years, carmakers including Volkswagen, Toyota, Ford, GM, Volvo and Brilliance China have built or planned to build new plants in western China.

And an increasing number of new car launch ceremonies have also been held in the western cities of Chengdu, Chongqing and Xi'an.

In the first half of this year, more than 140,000 passenger cars were sold in Chengdu, up 19 percent from a year earlier, far higher than the 11.5 percent increase in the nationwide market during the same period.

Led by Chengdu, the western market is expected to generate most future sales growth, not only for economy cars but also luxury vehicles.

The ninth hall of the Chengdu Motor Show will again be home to super luxury car or motorcycle brands including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston-Martin, Rolls-Royce, Porsche and Harley-Davidson. For the first time it will also have displays by legendary UK sports and racing car company McLaren, the young, high-performance car brand WMGTA from the US and Austrian motorcycle maker KTM.

The outdoor exhibition area will display second-hand premium cars including Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

Organizers said the used car market will now develop rapidly in China, with annual used car sales nationwide projected to surpass 36 million vehicles in 10 years, an increase of 600 percent over 2013.

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