BIZCHINA / Weekly Roundup
Information highway
By LIU BAIJIA (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-04-06 08:50
Seven is seen as a lucky number in most Western countries, but six has
traditionally been the most auspicious digit in China. Six has always had
the edge on the mainland until recently, that is. A new contender has
emerged over the past year to threaten its historical dominance: 70.
As unlikely as this may sound, one need only refer to the frequency with
which this number has appeared in recent months to believe it. Sales of
passenger cars grew by 70 per cent in China in January from the same
period last year. Online marketing sales in 2005, including online
advertising and search engine marketing, grew to 5.51 billion yuan
(US$682 million) from 2004 also an increase of 70 per cent.
But the numbers aren't the only thing that's surprising. Both automobiles
and the Internet are changing the lives of Chinese consumers like never
before. This has paved the way for automobile websites, the ideal meeting
point for two seemingly disparate but equally hot industries. The
potential is huge, but the commercial benefits still have yet to
materialize.
A 2005 China Automotive Website report by Shanghai iResearch Co Ltd shows
there are more than 1,200 automobile-related websites throughout the
country. Approximately 30 per cent of these are run by automakers or
related companies, and about 30 major websites provide information on
automobiles, car clubs and online shopping.
Surfing these websites for car-related information has proven
particularly popular among Chinese auto enthusiasts, no unlike consumers
in other countries.
Twenty-seven year old Beijing office worker Cedar Zhang logs into
Pcauto.com.cn on a daily basis to check the latest prices and testing
reports from car companies and users. Zhang loves to drive and got his
licence three years ago. He has been dreaming of owning his own car ever
since.
"The Internet is very convenient, because it's impossible to find
anywhere else that you can learn about technical features and performance
in one shot," says Zhang.
Websites have a huge hold on car enthusiasts. For example, approximately
56,900 users out of one million visited top Chinese portal Sina's
automobile channel on February 10, according to global website traffic
monitor Alexa. The popularity of these websites has become so big that
automakers spent 250 million yuan (US$30 million) on online advertising
in 2005.
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