2012 Beijing Auto Show - Highlights

The Auto China 2012, or more commonly known as the Beijing Auto Show, is arguably the most important motor show in Asia. The Chinese auto market is growing at exponential rate and every major auto manufacturer is present at the expo with a range of new concepts, production ready models and even special editions; hoping to get that extra piece of action. 

The number of vehicles unveiled in China this year is so high that the Auto Expo is almost on par with more traditional platforms like the Geneva, Paris and New York. The competition in the premium car segment is even stiff – not surprising as China is one of the biggest consumers in the world for luxury cars. The importance of the Chinese market is evident from simple facts like Lamborghini decided to preview their most important SUV concept, the Urus, here and Bentley launched a 'Royal Diamond Jubilee' Mulsanne edition, which actually honours the British royal family.

From our perspective the Beijing Auto Show is very significant, as just like India, China is also is a developing economy. Though they buy a lot more premium cars than us, the mass market cars sold in China are not so different - in the sense that they are also detuned and stripped versions of the cars available in Europe and US. It is also has an aspirational value and we hope that the Indian Auto Industry reaches that level somewhere in near future.

Lets us now look at all the important updates and highlights from the 2012 Beijing Auto Show over the next few pages.