According to CHINAdaily, China's auto industry is booming, and the city of Guangzhou is feeling the pinch. "We will increase the total number of parking spaces in the city by 150k between now and 2010, with 50k coming this year," says Wang Dong, director of the Guangzhou urban planning bureau. Last year, Guangzhou had more than 1m cars on its roads; officials licensed 600 new cars per day. In an effort to increase total parking capacity by 50k, the city's OKed five large car parks at a cost of 1b Yuan ($140m). Meanwhile, China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) have approved a group of "new" domestic vehicles. In a riff on Detroit badge-engineering, only a few are completely new models. The majority are comprised of "upgraded products from existing models." Chinese carmakers have released some 90 models a year for the past five years, including 20 "completely new ones." Finally, in an effort to curb "resource-intensive sectors and promote energy efficiency," the government is increasing the consumption tax for diesel fuel by about 70 percent (to the "full" tax rate of 0.10 Yuan per liter). We reckon even that won't slow the industry's growth. In just a single generation, the PRC has transformed from a nation of bicycle riders into a population of car-crazed consumers– and there ain't no goin' back.
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For a look at Chinese bike traffic rent Beijing Bicycle some time.
I remember the first time I visited China in 2001, parking was ample. Cars had to be bought in cash (and hand-counted at the dealership or bank) and blue-collar income was around US$50-60 a month. In 2005, there was no parking, and everyone had a car…
Guangzhou is not a scenic city, but it is an interesting place for the automotive observer. I’ve never seen so many VW Foxes (remember those turds from the late ’80s?) in one place, nor as many Buicks. Back in college, the cool kids’ parents bought them VWs, while the financial-aid types inherited their parent’s Buicks. China seems to prefer it the other way ’round.
If you can find a freeway (and never ever leave it) you might be able to get somewhere. Whole swaths of apartments were razed, almost literally overnight, to make way for elevated expressways that now roar just meters from the laundry-bedecked balconies of those ‘fortunate’ enough to keep their housing. Outlying, hand-built tenements shelter those even more unlucky.
Traffic congestion and pollution is appalling, and well beyond my meager ability to describe.
Full-length motorcoaches attempt 43-point u-turns in the middle of eight lanes of two-way traffic, while traffic police wait to pounce on taxi drivers who misjudge the distance between their bumper and the old man on the bicycle in front of them.
Despite the no-so-communist Laissez Faire attitute toward traffic enforcement, the city administrators haven’t bee entirely reactionary, however. Two-stroke engines were summarily banned from the city some years ago, to the relief of millions of asthmatics.
Regardless of the propulsion involved, it’s a city that needs more parking spots and more cars almost as much as I need a shotgun blast to the temple. And I doubt that a fuel tax of about $.05 per gallon will help much.
Last time I was in China, the Yuan was worth about 12.5 US cents. So that would make the tax about 5 cents a gallon.
Not bad!!
I was in Beijing and Shanghai in October of this year… took a few photos of cars that caught my eye and posted them here.
I was in Beijing for a week in November 2007. I was astonished to be picked up at the airport by…a Buick minivan. The interior seemed indistinguishable from the U.S. version (and that’s not necessarily a compliment). It even had front driver and passenger airbags.
But what really blew me away was the sheer number of not just Buicks, but BMW, Mercedes and Audis inching along teh completely traffic snarled streets. I probably saw more Audis (and A6s at that) than any other single car while I was there.
If there was any doubt, people, we’re living in the Chinese century.
@ Edward Niedermeyer: Thanks for the link to the pictures you took in Beijing!
Love the “Changan (Suzuki?) Alto”; it does have lots of character, as you say.
The “Maybach look about the headlights” of the Buick you saw is interesting too.
Glenn- Thanks! I think I have some more car photos somewhere that I’ve been meaning to post. It’s definitely a wild scene over there automotively… lots of A6L’s (most with government plates) was one of the big surprises (I guess they’re made locally)as was seeing several Quattroportes in Shanghai. The Honda Odyssey they sell over there is low-slung, swoopy and does without sliding doors… way cooler than our version. Between the weird cars and the chaotic traffic, it’s a good thing we stayed on foot most of the time, or I’d still be nursing a case of whiplash!
China’s love of cars is one of many reasons oil prices will continue to climb.
Imagine what China would be like today if they hadn’t instituted the one-child policies all those decades ago.
Thanks to all who’ve commented- I found what you’ve written insightful and interesting. :-)