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TRANSPORT

Chinese want cars that glide through the gridlock

AFP, Beijing
Traffic gridlock is emerging as a challenge to auto sales in China, with many potential buyers saying lack of space on the country's roads is a major factor in whether or not they will buy a car.
Visitors to the ongoing Auto China 2008 in Beijing said they did not plan to buy cars that were so large the ability to manoeuvre was compromised.
"Hatchback cars are smaller and more convenient, especially when parking space is limited and expensive," said Jeff Hu, a 30-year-old product designer from Shanghai looking for a vehicle for his family of three.
Clogged roads are a problem in all major Chinese cities. Beijing has three million cars, while in Shanghai, the country's largest city, the number of automobiles increased 11.8 percent last year to 1.2 million.
The congestion is gradually becoming a severe constraint on expanding car ownership in China, according to Jia Xinguang, an independent auto analyst leased in Beijing. The ability to buy a car is a sign of the,rapid expansion of the middle classes, one of the most visible reflections of China's economic reform.
According to estimates, the Chinese middle classes have grown from 65 million to 80 million - in just two years.
This means that middle *
class households -- defined in China as having an’ annual income of 60,000 to 500,000 yuan (8,500 to 70,000 dollars) -- now make up six percent of the total population.
They are a major driver of auto sales in China, one of the most promising markets in the world.
"In the past, people were saying cats were not affordable. Then it became 'we can afford to buy but can't afford to drive,"' he said, referring to the price of gas, toll fees and other .costs.
"Now it is 'we can afford buying and driving, but we just can't move,"' he said. A total of 1.85 million vehicles were sold in China in the first quarter of 2008, up 20 percent from a year earlier, as markets elsewhere in the world slumped, according to organisers of the auto show.
Zhang Jian, a 29-year-old human resources executive and another visitor to the auto show, is not buying a car just yet. mainly because fuel prices are too high. But that's not the only reason.
"The traffic is too bad in Beijing. It's better to take the metro and save your time than driving and being stuck on the road," she said.
A slogan for a new model launched by Mazda - "Zoom Zoom" — hints at the promise of driving in a free and unhindered way, observers said, noting it may be a sign of the times.
"The design of more and more cars will make the exte-rior as small as possible while leaving the interior space relatively large," said Zhao . Chenxi, a Shanghai-based auto analyst with Haitong Securities.
Not that people necessarily want their cars small. "Traditionally Chinese people love big cars. Opting for small ones is a forced choice," he said.
The gridlock has now become so bad that some officials have decided to abandon the laissez-faire attitude which has otherwise characterised auto policies in many parts of the nation.
In July last year, the mayor of Shenzhen, one of China's showpiece economic cities in the south, urged his 11 million residents to stop buying cars in a bid to ease worsening traffic and pollution woes.
"Stop buying cars," Xu Zonghcng, the city’s mayor was quoted as saying, adding that people were buying vehicles "too quickly," with the number of cars already topping one million.
"Problems arising from the city's traffic are mounting. I hope residents take this into consideration when planning to buy cars."
« Gradually improving public transportation is also impacting many people'* decisions on how to get around.
"I will drive if it's less than two hours but will opt for public transportation if it's longer than that," said Hu, the Shanghai product designer.