VW Motors into South China on Beijing Own-Brand Drive 大众汽车“南方战略”加速

Volkswagen (Frankfurt: VOWG) has scored an important victory in its plans to expand in South China with approval for a new $2 billion-plus joint venture factory, a development that also has broader implications for China’s drive to nurture a new group of homegrown brands for eventual export. In this latest development, VW has received the green light to build a new joint venture plant with local partner FAW in the South China city of Foshan after a one-year delay, the China Daily reports. The state planner finally gave the green light after determining that a new electric vehicle, to be manufactured under the Kaili brand name at the plant, qualifies as a new brand — a prerequisite for approval of such new joint venture factories. This approval marks an important step forward for VW, which is already well represented in most of China through its ventures with FAW and Shanghai’s SAIC (Shanghai: 600104), but counts affluent South China as one of its weak spots, with Japanese automakers and local players like BYD (HKEx: 1211) and Guangzhou Auto (HKEx: 2238) now dominating the market. From the broader perspective, approval of this venture also reflects Beijing’s desire to push foreign automakers to develop new “made in China” brands with their local partners. GM (NYSE: GM) and Nissan have both rolled out such brands over the last year, and very early signs are that their sales are going well, drawing on the quality assurance of a foreign partner while bringing the low costs of the “made in China” label. If this plan moves forward, and early signs are certainly good, this new crop of homegrown brands with foreign backing could serve as an eventual springboard into lucrative Western markets where consumers value both quality and low prices.

Bottom line: Approval of VW’s new South China plant marks an important advance for VW, and reflects Beijing’s desire to develop a new crop of homemade brands for eventual export.

德国大众汽车<VOWG.DE>进军中国南方市场的努力取得重要胜利，其计划在南方建一个20亿美元合资工厂的项目获中国政府批准，这对於努力想将本土品牌推向国际市场的中国来说，此举也有重大意义。据《中国日报》报导，在拖延了一年後，一汽大众佛山工厂终於获批。一汽大众此款电动车品牌定名为“开利”，满足了自主品牌等相关要求，因此获国家发改委批复。这对於大众来说是其前进的重要一步，大众通过与一汽和上海汽车<600104.SS>成立合资公司，在中国大部分市场已有良好发展，但其在富庶的中国南部市场却乏善可陈，日系汽车厂商、比亚迪<1211.HK>和广汽集团<2238.HK>等当地汽车厂商目前主导南方市场。从更广泛义的意义来说，批准合资工厂，说明中国政府希望能利用外资汽车生产商的力量，与本土合作夥伴一起开发“中国制造”品牌。去年，通用汽车<GM.N>和日产都推出了类似品牌，初步数据显示，它们的销量都不错，因为一方面有外国制造商的质量保证，另一方面有本土合作方，可以降低成本。如果这个计划得以推行，这批得到外资支持的本土品牌将成为最终走向西方市场的跳板，因西方消费者既看中品质，又希望获得低价。

一句话：大众在中国南方建厂的计划获批对其意义重大，也说明中国希望能打造可以走向国际市场的本土品牌。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Autos: Good Times Screech to a Halt 中国汽车业：当繁荣已成往事

◙ GM’s China Growth Story Stalls Out 通用汽车在华增长势头受挫

◙ China Takes Car Incentives to the Farm to Halt Skid