Global carmakers gear up for Beijing auto show

BEIJING, Apr 22 (AFP): Global carmakers will show off their latest models at the Beijing Auto Show this week, days after China unveiled plans to shift gears in the world's biggest car market by lifting foreign ownership restrictions.

Industry giants such as Volkswagen, Daimler, Toyota, Nissan and Ford will be among the companies seeking the limelight in a country where 28.9 million vehicles were sold in 2017, a three per cent increase from 2016.

Although sales lost steam compared to the previous year, foreign automakers are still eager to win bigger slices of a huge market as they face increasing competition from domestic companies that are investing in electric and self-driving vehicles.

And the Beijing Auto Show is their chance to display their new models to Chinese car enthusiasts.

The event "is becoming the largest in the industry... No one can ignore China," said Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research, based in Germany.

On the floor of the giant China international exhibition centre, auto executives may offer a more detailed take.