The Baojun 630 automobile is displayed in Shanghai. General Motors's minivan joint venture SAIC-GM-Wuling yesterday launched the first model under its passenger car brand Baojun to cash in on the rapidly growing passenger car segment in China.
General Motors's minivan joint venture SAIC-GM-Wuling unveiled the first model under its passenger car brand Baojun to cash in on the rapidly growing passenger car segment in China.
The launch of Baojun 630, a four-door sedan, yesterday joined other foreign car makers which are rolling less expensive entry-level models to take on China's home-grown auto makers.
The 1.5-liter Baojun 630 sedan comes in three configurations and costs between 62,800 yuan (US$9,750) and 73,800 yuan.
"The Baojun 630 is targeted at consumers in China's second- and third-tier cities," said Matthew Tsien, executive vice president of SAIC-GM-Wuling, adding the mid-range car sector is also the single largest segment in China.
The carmaker expects to sell 20,000 Baojun 630 cars this year, Tsien said. It envisages that it will add one new model annually under the Baojun brand and aims to cover the sub-compact and compact car segment in the next five years, according to its statement.
More than 120 dealerships for the sedan will open in eight cities including Zhengzhou, Nanjing, Jinan, Changsha and Shijiazhuang. The number will increase to 150 by the end of this year.
General Motors was among other international auto giants that rolled out models under the nameplate of a joint venture to appeal to budget-minded consumer in second-tier cities, where China's home-grown carmakers like Geely and Chery dominate.
"Independent JV brands may threaten domestic brands as they can build on better technology which is still considered weak for Chinese car makers," said Klaus Paur, managing director for Synovate Motoresearch in China.
