Successive price wars have pushed many imported auto dealers to quit the market this year, eastday.com reported today.

Twenty or thirty imported auto dealers have withdrawn from the Beijing Asian Games Village Automobile Exchange this year, said Guo Yong, manager with the business information center of the exchange. Many dealers are trying to liquidate their inventories to get back most of their funds, with no one daring to importing new cars during the period, Guo pointed out.

With the canceling of the quota system for imported automobiles next year, in accordance with China's WTO commitment, the imported car market is facing a reshuffle, Guo said.

The new policy on imported cars will make life hard for the less competitive dealers, he stressed, adding that stricter qualification checks will be conducted on imported auto dealers.

The new policy will give imported auto manufactures more domination on dealers, which is considered an efficient way to stabilize the market, said an expert, adding that auto makers will play a main role in the competition of the imported car market in the near future.

Imported cars are stilling seeing price cuts at the year end, but next year, the prices are expected to be stable, the expert predicted.

(Shanghai Daily December 17, 2004)