Chang'an Auto Boss Proposes Policies to Fuel Small Car Sales
Yu Liyan
DATE:  Mar 05 2019
/ SOURCE:  yicai
Chang'an Auto Boss Proposes Policies to Fuel Small Car Sales Chang'an Auto Boss Proposes Policies to Fuel Small Car Sales

(Yicai Global) March 5 -- China should bring in new policies to promote small and micro car sales and bolster rural market development, according to the president of Chang'an Automobile Group.

China's auto market overall is sluggish, but there are still opportunities in the smaller car segment, Zhu Huarong said in a proposal submitted to the National People's Congress, the country's national legislature.

The NPC and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's political advisory body, hold concurrent meetings every year. Known collectively as the Two Sessions, the event is widely hailed as China's biggest political occasion of each year.

Motorcycle sales total around 15 million a year, Zhu said, adding that many of these buyers are potential small or micro car buyers and that governments and enterprises should not ignore the opportunity.

China's auto industry shrank for the first time in 28 years in 2018, and sales have continued to tumble in the early months of this year. The country made 2.6 million vehicles in January, down 12.1 percent annually, while sales fell 15.8 percent to just 2,100 more than the number produced, according to data from the China Association of Automotive Manufacturers.

"The number of cars per capita in rural areas is far lower than in urban areas," Zhu added. "But more roads are being built in rural areas and travel demand is also increasing. There is huge potential demand for small vehicles."

He believes government policies and regulation could better promote sales of these cars, such as more tolerant policies on displacement restrictions, car purchase taxes and corporate taxes and fees that could reduce the cost to the consumer and drive new sales.

Subsidies should also be available for rural residents who replace their microbuses with passenger cars or combustion engine vehicles for electric ones, he added.

Chang'an Auto has already begun looking to shift more cars in non-urban areas, with its Chang'an Auchan marque leading the way. Its joint venture with Ford, Chang'an Ford, also unveiled plans to sell cars in rural regions at the beginning of this month.

Editor: James Boynton

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Keywords:   Chang’an Automobile,Two Sessions