SOURCE / ECONOMY
Overseas luxury auto brands upbeat about China's economic vitality, market potential
Published: Jun 09, 2022 08:43 PM
Performers stage a dance at the 19th Guangzhou Auto Show on November 20, 2021 in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. A total of 1,020 cars were on display and 54 made their global debuts at the show. Photo: VCG

Performers stage a dance at the 19th Guangzhou Auto Show on November 20, 2021 in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. A total of 1,020 cars were on display and 54 made their global debuts at the show. Photo: VCG

Overseas luxury car producers maintain confidence in China's consumption power, as they anticipate ever-growing consumption power of Chinese people in snapping up high-end luxury goods.

Over the past three years, the China market has maintained continuous growth as a percentage of Bentley's total global sales, with figures showing 18 percent in 2019, 26 percent in 2020 and 28 percent in 2021, Bernd Pichler, managing director of Bentley Motors (Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao) told the Global Times in a recent interview.  

As of the first quarter of 2022, despite sales performance in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao have fallen 29 percent from the same period last year, there is a steady increase of customer interest in the latest EWB brand, he added. 

Over the past two months, sales at a few of the company's retailers were affected by the resurgence of the epidemic. However, "we're confident in the active and effective epidemic prevention and control measures, as well as China's economic vitality and market potential," Pichler said. 

Automobili Lamborghini said on Monday that it has opened its new service center in Hong Kong, to keep pace with business expansion and enhance its quality of service. The new facility is the largest Lamborghini service center in the world and marks an important chapter for the brand in the Chinese market.

Lamborghini has consistently demonstrated strong growth momentum in recent years and has attached great importance to the Chinese market, the second largest market for Lamborghini last year, the company said in a release sent to the Global Times.

China's luxury car market has maintained strong growth in recent years. According to data from China Passenger Car Association, in 2021, the cumulative sales of luxury brand cars, including tesla, stood at 2.65 million units, a year-on-year increase of 5 percent.

Among the ultra-luxury cars with a price of over one million yuan, Bentley is highly welcomed in the four first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, according to tfcaijing.com, citing data from industry information provider WAYS. 

China was the firm's strongest market in sales growth for a second consecutive year, with annual sales reaching 4,033 units, a 40 percent of year-on-year increase, the company said.

Britain's Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is another luxury car brand preferred by Chinese consumers in the four first-tier cities, and the sales volume in 2021 in the four cities was 807 units. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said that it delivered record number of sales in Chinese market during 2021, contributing to its highest-ever annual global sales results.

"We see a trend in the market of consumption upgrading of high-end, premium and then luxury brands, and we are confident about the future development of Bentley in the Chinese market", Pichler said. 

"Despite the complex market environment, we are accelerating the transition to electrification throughout our entire product range. With the introduction of Hybrids and future BEVs, we will occupy a very privileged position in the market", he added.