Show Sets Attendance Record, With Over 800,000 Visitors Over Course Of Event#
Although Auto China 2010 -- the Beijing Auto Show -- wrapped up this weekend, heads are still spinning at a couple of figures produced by the exhibition. First, the week-long show set a world attendance record (with over 800,000 visitors stopping by over the course of the week), and second, approximately 40 vehicles were sold at the event for a grand total of more than 150 million yuan (US$22 million). Some of the more rare vehicles -- like the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, which had a price tag of 38 million yuan (US$5.6 million) -- were even purchased on the first day of the event.
The luxury brands were on show in the E4 and E5 exhibition halls and most were priced at more than 2 million yuan.
According to Gao Mengxiong, Maserati China's sales manager, five of the six cars he was displaying sold at the show and will be delivered to customers.
"Another 10 will be delivered in six to eight weeks, after the cars are customized to the customers' requirements," Gao said.
Given that each model sells for 2.5 million yuan, Maserati saw total sales of about 37 million yuan.
Another elite car seller was pleased with the event.
"We are going to get big orders at this auto show, based on my former experiences," a representative at the Rolls-Royce booth said. He said one customer ordered a famed Rolls-Royce Ghost.
Porsche too enjoyed the pit stop in Beijing. Other than three cars it brought for display purposes only, the company sold its eight cars within three days. Among them, the most expensive sold for more than 2 million yuan.
Senior managers with companies attending the show said they were impressed with the spending power shown by Chinese customers.
"The buyers of Bugatti in China are much younger than those in other countries," Zheng Shunjing, director of Bugatti China, told Beijing News. "The customers in China are mostly younger than 40, five to 10 years younger than those in Western countries."