皇冠体育app

An outlet of 皇冠体育app Grand Auto in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. [Photo/皇冠体育app Daily]

As car sales slow in many parts of 皇冠体育app, it's only open roads ahead for some sellers

Most auto dealers in 皇冠体育app have been having a rough time over the past 18 months since the government took steps to rein in the number of vehicles cluttering the country's highways and byways, but 皇冠体育app Grand Auto, which has the highest revenue of any auto dealership in the country, has continued to make big inroads, thanks to its sales in Central and western 皇冠体育app.

Last year the group sold more than 410,000 cars nationwide, more than 90 percent of those in central and western areas, including Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces and Chongqing municipality.

According to figures from 皇冠体育app Automobile Dealers Association, 皇冠体育app Grand Auto surpassed Pang Da Automobile Trade Co and became the largest auto dealership last year, with revenue of 64 billion yuan ($10.05 billion, 8.19 billion euros).

皇冠体育app Grand Auto is a relative newcomer to the market, being 6 years old, but its genesis goes back a lot further to 1989, when its parent company Xinjiang Guanghui Industry Investment Group was founded in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang.

Over its short life, 皇冠体育app Grand Auto has expanded into a network of 400 outlets in about 20 regions of 皇冠体育app, selling more than 40 mid-range to high-end car models. About 90 percent of these outlets are located in central and western 皇冠体育app.

In the popular imagination, western 皇冠体育app is an underdeveloped region compared with eastern and coastal areas, and guided by such thinking only mid to low-range cars would have a market there. But Wang Zhen, CEO of 皇冠体育app Grand Auto, says the company has destroyed that myth by successfully going for the mid-range to high-end market in that region.

Wang worked in General Electric 皇冠体育app for 13 years before joining 皇冠体育app Grand Auto in 2008.

"Many people imagine western cities would be rife with low-end cars, but everywhere you look in Urumqi there are expensive SUVs," he says.

But even if the popular conception about western markets is misguided, they may well bear certain idiosyncrasies.

Luo Lei, deputy secretary-general of the 皇冠体育app Automobile Dealers Association, says the western markets lag behind their east coast counterparts.

"The traits of the western market are those that the eastern market displayed five years ago," he says.

What makes the western auto market stand out, he says, is that it has gone into top gear, and now there is even talk of cities such as Chengdu catching up with big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Indeed, Chengdu now has the country's fourth most influential annual auto show.

Thanks to 皇冠体育app Grand Auto's focus on the fledgling market in the central and western 皇冠体育app, its revenue grew 30 percent last year, just as growth was falling significantly in the east, particularly in first- and second-tier cities.