[classicman]

A related piece from the economist ...

The upper end of the car market is still booming. BMW's Chinese sales rose by more than a third in the first quarter, compared with a year earlier. To capitalise on the apparently insatiable appetite for its cars, the German firm is launching a stretched version of its 3-series at the Beijing show. This is to appeal to the many buyers who want extra legroom in the back, since that's where they will be sitting, with their chauffeurs at the wheel.

Sport-utility vehicles are also selling like hot Chinese buns: if you can't afford a chauffeur, at least it's nice to drive a car with high seats so you can look down on other motorists. Sales of SUVs have gone up from about 350,000 five years ago to perhaps 2m this year (out of a total Chinese market for passenger cars of 15.5m) and look set to keep growing at more than double the rate of the overall market. That is why Ford launched three new SUV models at the Beijing show.

As described in a fascinating new book on the Chinese motor industry, “Designated Drivers”, by Greg Anderson, an industry expert, the central government is well aware of the growing need for the country's motor industry to be rationalised. Yet many of the smaller makers are owned or subsidised by city and provincial governments, and their main intention is not to make profits but to soak up local unemployment and avert social unrest—the one thing the Chinese authorities at all levels most dread. Their owners and bosses will do all they can to resist cutting back.