Despite China's image of generally low income, there are
individuals lucky enough to afford luxury cars like a new Benz,
BMW, Audi A8 or the Bentley that sold at a record price of 8.88
million yuan(US$1.1 million) recently at a Beijing car exhibition.
The buyers tend to be owners of private enterprises, senior
managers in foreign-invested joint ventures and leaders of state
units. These people account for more than 70 percent of the
total.
An
investigation by the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences shows that
the average property of rich families is 2.87 million yuan
(US$346,000), 12 percent of rich families have more than 500,000
yuan (US$60,240) in yearly income, and their total property
accounts for 51.42 percent of all the rich families.
Most people of this group own several cars, including BMW and Benz.
Mr. Guo, who bought a BMW 740 in 1996, said he loves cars, and he
would follow his friends who buy a new type. Now, he has five cars
and shares them with his family.
Some of these people buy their luxury car for ornamenting the image
of their companies.
The second group comprises attorneys, actuaries, senior
accountants, stock traders etc. This group accounts for 10 percent
of the total.
With increasing development in the Chinese economy and rule of law,
professionals working in these fields earn a soaring salary. For
instance, 90 percent of the attorneys of Beijing's 200-odd legal
agencies have a yearly income of more than 100,000 yuan
(US$12,048); some earn a million, so may be able to afford a
limousine. They prefer functional and secure cars like Volvo, which
sell at 500,000 (US$60,240) to 800,000 (US$96,386) yuan.
The third group comprises actors or actresses, famous sports
people, coaches, models, TV hosts etc. This celebrity group,
accounting for 10 percent of the total, earn their money by fame
and popularity. They woo personality through car purchasing,
favoring beautiful colors and powerful engines. Roadsters and
luxury jeeps are their favorites.
The fourth group may be the offspring of the rich, or stock
dealers, or concubines of rich men. They account for about five
percent of the total. Like the third group, they prefer roadsters
to show off their personality and money. A salesman of French
PEUGEOT said, there are always some rich parents companying their
children to buy 206 CC roadsters.
(china.org.cn by Li Liangdu, September 11, 2002 )