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IPFS News Link • China

Amid Electric Push, China’s Cars Get Bigger

• http://stream.wsj.com
 Bigger is better in China.

It’s hard to walk 20 meters at the Shanghai auto show without seeing a burly off-road style sport-utility vehicle, jacked-up pickup truck or even a motor home.

It looks a lot like the Detroit auto show from the late 1990s. In this case, most of the vehicles on display are built by Chinese manufacturers and many bear striking resemblances to U.S. or Japanese models.

Indeed the market here for sport utility vehicles is growing faster than any other segment and every company is putting more on dealer lots. In March, SUV sales in China surged 49% to 234,900 vehicles compared with a year ago, according to industry statistics.

Mike Manley, the chief of the Chrysler Group LLC’s Jeep brand, said he believes the sport-utility vehicles appeal to buyers here because they show added status in a society where it is important to demonstrate how far you have come.


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