Ford unveiled a three-cylinder mini-SUV and Chrysler showed a dragon-theme Jeep on Monday, April 23, as automakers rolled out models designed for Chinese buyers at the Beijing auto show amid tougher competition in the world's biggest vehicle market, The Associated Press reports.
Automakers are looking to China to drive revenue amid weakness in the United States and Europe. But explosive sales growth that hit 35 percent in 2010 fell to just 2 percent in the first quarter of this year.
Ford Motor Co. premiered its latest SUV, the scaled-down EcoSport, designed for "urban adventurers" with a 1-liter engine. The vehicle is due to be manufactured at Ford's main China factory in the southwestern city of Chongqing.
Automakers that used to sell the same models worldwide with few local changes increasingly create products with Chinese buyers in mind.
Nissan, Toyota and other automakers also used Auto China 2012 to showcase luxury sedans and SUVs aimed at Chinese buyers. The event, China's biggest auto show this year, opens to the public on Friday.
Chrysler Group LLC announced it will sell a dragon-themed Jeep, with gold-toned accents and dragon designs on headrests and elsewhere.
Japan's Infiniti rolled out a new luxury sedan with a bigger back seat for Chinese businesspeople. Italy's Fiat SpA, trying to rebuild its presence in China after withdrawing in the 1990s, showed the new Viaggio sedan, designed with its local partner Guangdong Automobile Co. to appeal to Chinese buyers. The four-door sedan, with a 1.4-liter engine, is due to go into production in June at a factory in the southern city of Changsha.
Jaguar Land Rover, owned by India's Tata Motors, unveiled a Range Rover Evoque Special Edition four-seat coupe Sunday co-designed by Victoria Beckham with gloss black forged alloy wheels, rose gold-plated accents and mohair.
Venucia, a partnership between Nissan Motor Co. and a Chinese automaker displayed its first production model, the D50, a compact sedan. Denza, an electric vehicle joint venture between Daimler AG and China's BYD Co., displayed a model of its first car, due to go on sale next year.
