From Altos to Benzes: Chengdu locals trade up

He Liang, a 32-year-old traffic officer, is an example. He purchased his first car, a Hyundai Verna in 2009, after he relocated from Panzhihua city to Chengdu.

"Were it not for the quake, I would have postponed my plans to buy a car for at least five years," said He.

After seeing so many serious quake-hit areas and witnessing many personal tragedies, He said that people in Chengdu, including himself, regarded money as much less important.

The Suzuki Alto was once the most popular car in Chengdu. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"Thus, the vehicle and real estate sales boom after the quake makes sense. People here just want to have as much fun as possible today and not pay much attention to or worry about the future," said He.

Bjorn Hauber, executive vice-president of sales and marketing at Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co, recalled participating in the Chengdu Motor Show three years ago. He said he was surprised to see three Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class sports cars whistling by in the 15 minutes that he stood waiting for a shuttle to the exhibition center.

"I was deeply impressed by the local residents' spending power for such a niche car," Hauber said.

Potential

Seeing more market potential in Chengdu, the German luxury car producer inaugurated its regional office for operations in the western region in Chengdu last June.

"Over the years, cities in western China, such as Xi'an and Chengdu, have witnessed dramatic growth and changing lifestyles that demonstrate the region's huge market potential," Hauber said.

"Although the region now contributes 15 to 20 percent of our overall business, it's more interesting that we see the highest growth rates in the western China markets, led by the two cities," he said.

Now Mercedes has seven dealerships in Chengdu and plans to further expand to the neighboring lower-tier cities.

Mercedes' rival BMW opened its largest 5S store in Asia in the city this June. It had only one dealership in Chengdu before the quake.

Special: Chengdu Motor Show 2013 

The top-tier vehicle brands, such as Rolls-Royce, Maserati and Ferrari, have all established a foothold in the city to find more business potential.

The arrival of premium brands, and local enthusiasm made Chengdu a new luxury vehicle hub in China, following Beijing and Shanghai.

No one could imagine that Chengdu has been the largest single city market for Volkswagen's premium model Phaeton since 2008.

Statistics show that in 2012, passenger vehicle sales in western China, led by Chengdu, reached 3 million units.

The 25 percent average annual growth seen in the city during the past five years by far outpaced growth in the market overall.

Lang Xuehong, a senior auto analyst with consulting firm Sinotrust said that she believes the western market, led by Chengdu, will give even more momentum to luxury vehicle sales due to market saturation in the coastal cities and purchase limitations for vehicles in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai as well as the potential for more metropolitan areas to follow suit.