Beijing expects 10 automakers to assemble 90% of China's vehicles by 2015
By 2015, China's 10 largest domestic automakers and their joint ventures with foreign automakers are expected to produce more than 90 percent of the country's vehicles, according to a government plan released last week.
The plan, the Blueprint for Industry Transformation and Upgrade in 2011-2015, encourages automakers to consolidate operations and improve technology, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a statement.
Last year, China's 10 largest automakers were Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., Dongfeng Motor Corp., China FAW Group Corp., Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp., Chery Automobile Co., Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, Great Wall Motor Co. and Jianghuai Automobile Co.
Those companies produced 16 million light vehicles and trucks in 2011, accounting for 87 percent of the national total, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
The Chinese government has long pushed for consolidation of the nation's highly fragmented auto industry. Most mergers and acquisitions have taken place among state-owned automakers.
For example, SAIC acquired Nanjing Automobile Group Co. in 2008. A year later, Changan acquired two state-owned automakers, Jiangxi Changhe Automobile Co. and Hafei Automobile Industry Group Co.
