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| Wang Rong (front), Party chief of Shenzhen in Guangdong province, arrives in a BYD E6 electric car at a meeting of the city's legislature in January. Wang has long used the car for official business. [Photo/China Daily] |
Foreign brands could take more of backseat in wake of official spending curbs
The central government's recent announcement of a clampdown on extravagance and waste is expected to boost the country's domestic carmakers, as provincial authorities start to reject the use of foreign-brand vehicles.
Cui Dongshu, the deputy secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, said that the government's previous appeal for the use of domestic brands had "fallen on stony ground".
However, he said its latest urging of austerity should "definitely provide a big step forward" for locally made cars.
"Domestic brands should grab that opportunity, in a market long-dominated by foreign rivals," he added.
Authorities in Gansu province have already become the first to ask all its offices to buy domestic brands if they need new cars.
Its move was followed by counterparts in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Hunan province and Shanghai.
Wang Rong, the Party chief of Shenzhen in Guangdong province, recently replaced his official Audi A6 with an electric car produced locally by BYD Auto Co Ltd.
Officials at the provincial government in Guangdong province have also been assigned cars produced by Guangzhou Auto Trumpchi, for the local people's congress.
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