Thousands of businesses will display their new technologies and products at the 2007 Auto Shanghai exhibition from April 22 to 28.

 

Germany's Volkswagen alone will take up 6,272 square meters at the Shanghai New International Expo Center to show 26 models of Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Bentley and Lamborghini, including new technology and models that will premiere for the first time globally or in Asia.

 

Toyota from Japan will also team up with its joint ventures in China to exhibit 31 models.

 

But missing from the show will be two of China's top three automakers the China FAW Group Corporation and Dongfeng Motor Corporation, which will not attend the Shanghai show as a group.

 

Subsidiaries of the two auto giants will still participate on their own, the Shanghai Oriental Morning Post reported.

 

While this will be the second time for Dongfeng to skip the Shanghai show as a group, the absence of China's largest automaker, China FAW Group, will come as a surprise to many.

 

For the last two decades, China FAW Group has been a key supporter of the Shanghai show. It provided 100 Vizi cars for media covering the 2003 Auto Shanghai exhibition, and when Dongfeng Motor decided not to attend in 2005, China FAW brought four new models to the city.

 

Analysts said the excessive number of auto shows in China is the main reason for the absence of the two large groups.

 

Auto China 2006, the largest of its kind in China, was held in Beijing only five months ago.

 

Most cities that make cars have their own shows in total more than 20 or 30 a year. And the cost of participating in a show can be as high as 10 million yuan.

 

With two of the top three Chinese car-making groups absent from the show, the Shanghai Automotive Group Corporation is likely to occupy much of the limelight at home this time.

 

Meanwhile, China FAW is anticipating its own time in the spotlight at the China Chang-chun International Automobile Fair, to be held from July 13 to 22 in its home base of Changchun, the capital of Northeast China's Jilin Province.

 

(China Daily April 4, 2007)