China is now the world's largest auto market and it continues to grow even bigger. This year total passenger vehicle sales in China will be around 17 million units. For 2011, that number is expected to be 19 million and it is Audi, BWM and Mercedes-Benz who dominate the country's luxury car sector.
The three German premium brands currently hold 76 percent of the luxury car market in China. And according to Yang Jian, managing editor of Automotive News China, those automakers combined will only grow their market share in the future.
Jian says the German automakers will continue to succeed in China because they offer lower prices and stretched versions of their respective sedan models that are very popular with the growing demographic of Chinese business executives.
Audi offers extended-wheelbase variants of its A4L and A6L models in China - the A4L and A6L, which account for 60 percent of its total sales. BMW has a stretched version of its mid-sized 5-Series sedan, as does Mercedes-Benz, which sells a longer E-Class in China too.
And what keeps their models less expensive than the competition? They are produced locally as opposed to brands such as Lexus, Infiniti, Jaguar and Land Rover which manufacture their models outside of China and are subject to stiff Chinese import tariffs.
Audi's builds the A4L, A6L and Q5 in China. BMW produces the 3-Series and 5-Series sold in China locally too. The C-Class and E-Class from Mercedes-Benz are also made there.
