Few new models to be launched '07

Last week, the State Development and Reform Commission announced the latest batch (135th batch) of vehicle production enterprises and products access catalog. In sedan products, only 3 brands, 4 models were in the list.

The four models are Shanghai Volkswagen 1.8L Octavia, 3.6L and 2.8L models of the Shanghai GM Buick and the 1.60L model of Chongqing Lifan Auto.

As each new car must be listed on the catalog before sales, and this year the number of first batch of authorized vehicle models was largely reduced, which means that new model launching will slow down this year. Hua Xue, director of Internet Auto Market, said that new model launching this year may be slow down compared to 2006, manufacturers will be more inclined to modify the old models and other measurements to save price.

Some experts believe that the State Development and Reform Commission released automobile industry restructuring in order to raise the threshold and limit production of new models. Statistics show that last year, domestic auto manufacturers launched more than 117 models, the number of brand new models broke to 30 totally.