Brilliance China Auto, a partner of BMW, has clinched China's
largest ever automobile export deal with a German company to sell
158,000 of its Zhonghua cars in Europe over the next five
years.
According to the deal worth 16 billion yuan (US$2.04), the
Shenyang-based company's Zhonghua cars will be distributed in
Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland
and Poland through the Bremen-based HSO Auto Trading
Company.
It is a breakthrough for the Chinese car-making industry, which
is more commonly associated with exporting low-end models to
southeast Asia, the Middle East and
Africa.
Brilliance Auto did not reveal the prices of the exported cars
but Thursday's Beijing News quoted an anonymous insider involved in
the deal as saying that the first batch of the Zhonghua Zunchi cars
were priced between 19,000 euro and 23,000 euro each and the
Zhonghua Junjie cars at between 16,000 euro and 18,000
euro.
The export prices were higher than domestic ones because
Brilliance Auto improved the cars to ensure they met German
standards, including safety and emission standards, said the
newspaper report. However, the cars are still 20 percent cheaper
than those of the same grade on the European
market.
Statistics show that China's car exports have been on the
increase in recent years, with exports reaching 173,000 vehicles in
the first seven months this year, as much as the total exported
during the whole of 2005.
However, the average export price dropped from US$16,100per unit
in 1999 to US$9,100 in 2005, mainly as a result of fierce price
undercutting among domestic
automakers.
"Auto export disputes have reached a peak in China," warned Wang
Qinhua, an official with the Ministry of Commerce, adding that
Chinese automakers would face increasing risks of anti-dumping
charges when they started to export cars to developed
countries.
To regulate the exports, the Chinese government is planning to
set higher requirements for the country's car exporters, according
to the Beijing News.
A total of 160 car makers and auto parts manufacturers were
qualified to export their products by August.
(Xinhua News Agency December 2, 2006)