When the going gets tough, the rich go for the top end

By Matt Hodges (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-23 08:51

SHANGHAI: With a green jade Buddha dangling nonchalantly from his neck and a gold bracelet glittering on his wrist, Huang Xin was right at home for the global debut of the Porsche Panamera at the 13th Shanghai auto show Wednesday- as he hunted for his sixth luxury car.

"Times are good," Huang, a traditional Chinese medicine doctor from Yunnan province, said as he stepped out of a shiny metallic Boxster.

"People saved hard before the downturn, and they now have less work to do and more time to come to my clinic and take care of their health."

Having bought his third Porsche in 12 months earlier this spring, the amiable 40-year-old said he was probably going to make the latest Boxster his next buy as the country's new moneyed class sits at the top of the country's booming automobile industry.

"We're the only people in our town with three Porsches," said Huang, who hails from Yuxi, a town famous for the cigarette brand of the same name.

The German carmaker invited Huang as a VIP - an inducement to ignore the other 1,000 foreign and domestic vehicles on display and add another Porsche to his three. He also has a Mercedes and a Jeep.

Sales of high-end cars are expected to rise despite the global credit crisis even as the lower end of the market benefits from tax cuts and other government incentives.

"China's mega-rich may have lost 1 billion (yuan)," said Julian Hardy, general manager for Aston Martin China.

"But they've still got 5 billion left. These people have recently made a lot of money, and now they want to show it."

He said Aston Martin, the original car of fictitious British spy James Bond, sold about 50 units in China last year. Next year he is aiming to shift 150.

With China recording 15 billionaires last year and several hundred thousand millionaires, industry insiders say this is not unrealistic.

China overtook the United States as the world's biggest car market for a third straight month in March, with sales hitting a record 1.1 million. Analysts anticipate a global dip in car sales this year of roughly 8 percent, while the Chinese market is expected to grow by around 10 percent.

"That sounds about right to me," said Kim Wong, general manager of Lexus' third dealership in Shanghai, which has already sold a healthy 20 units since it opened last week.

"Rich businessmen in China really go for the top class, like Mercedes S-class sedans and Lexus," he said. "They want to show that they are successful. It gives their customers confidence, and helps them build relationships with government officials and lets them create more 'face'.

"We definitely have a lot of room for growth," he added.

In business circles, credibility counts, said local businessman Xie Gui.

"People are not willing to do business with a man who drives a Japanese car produced in the 1980s," he said. "Your car basically tells people how much you are worth, and how much you are worth doing business with."

For the younger generation, though, cars are all about making a statement.

"The Mini Cooper is my dream car," said Li Jin, a 36-year-old bank clerk from neighboring Jiangsu province. Like thousands of others, she made the pilgrimage to Shanghai to check out the auto show's 13 new global releases, as well as a range of petrol-electric hybrids and futuristic prototypes.

"Minis give the image of a modern woman who enjoys her life," she said.

Shanghainese couple Candy Xi and Kendy Su, both 30, said Ferraris and BMWs are all well and good for the rich set, but the timeless Cooper was more suited to inner city life.

"It's a really good fit for Shanghai," said Xi. "It's small and cool, a bit sexy. And there are too many people and cars here already, so you can squeeze past the others."

Tang Zhihao contributed to the story