Custom-made Cars flourish in China

Everybody loves unique cars which gives makes them stand out in the crowd. People who have these kinds of cars aren’t satisfied with a typical car even if it is equipped with top of the line parts like Nissan Altima parts.

In China, people are getting hooked into custom-made cars like the Rolls-Royce, which is one of their popular choices. Gavin Hartley, general manager of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, has been helping their Chinese customers in placing their wildest fantasies to build their dream cars. They have been willing to embrace the trend, as customers crave for more of such unique cars. And so, their sales have been climbing steadily. “About 90 percent of the company’s mainland sales are tailor-made,” Rolls-Royce China General Manager Jenny Zheng said.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars offers their Phantom with 15 standard and five contrast color combinations. They also provided 23 mono and contrast interiors made standard for the model. In addition, customers can also request for their own treadplates, embroidery, wood inlays and specific color schemes (non-standard on the exterior and interior). There are also added features like dividing walls with intercoms, and TV and DVD entertainment. They also offer interior equipment redesigning, from glovebox to a refrigerator, putting in more pleasure and luxury on how the customers actually perceived it.

Hartley said, “We have noticed that Chinese customers have begun to have a stronger preference for the customized models. Some even go quite beyond our imagination.” By fact, the extended wheel-base version is held the most popular among their Chinese customers, as they prefer to have a more spacious footrest area. On color, red is one of the most popular, as for Chinese, it is a symbol of happiness.

Indeed, it is a growing trend, evident when Rolls-Royce’s Asia-Pacific region (China, Japan and Australia) sales increased 40 percent last year compared with their sales in 2005. That makes up a big difference between the 25 percent growth worldwide during the same period.

Moreover, Chinese consumers have also been increasingly demanding more compact cars stuffed with state-of-the-art components at competitive prices. This draws auto parts makers to work with car manufacturers in meeting such needs.

Visteon, a leading automotive supplier of custom-made lights and accessories, proclaimed that their study shows that “China will play a leading role in several key automotive areas in the coming years.” Asaf Farashuddin, Visteon’s vice president of strategy, said, “The trends show enormous opportunity for companies that can drive their development by responding to the market changes.” It implies that those will join in bringing supplies to such demand would eventually gain better sales, which is most likely expected.