This Day, That Year

Item from Oct 23, 1990, in China Daily: Beijing Jeep Corp’s newly completed engine plant was officially launched yesterday — and the first locally made engine for the Cherokee Jeep rolled off the production line as soon as the ribbon was cut.

Construction of the 135 million yuan engine plant started in 1988, and it can now produce 30,000 engines annually.

Since Beijing Jeep Corp became the country’s first auto joint venture in 1983, China’s auto industry has changed beyond recognition.

China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. To compete with imported products, carmakers launched more locally produced models and started to reduce retail prices to more affordable levels. As a result, the car market grew by 62 percent in 2002 and 83 percent in 2003, and many overseas companies, including BMW, Fiat-Chrysler, Ford, Hyundai, Mazda, Mercedes, Nissan, Toyota and Nissan, began to form joint ventures in China.

By 2009, China had surpassed the United States in auto production and sales to become the world’s No 1 market, with 13.8 million automobiles sold.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released a 15-year plan on new energy vehicles last year that forecast e-cars will account for 7 percent of all car sales in 2020, and 40 percent in 2030, reaching an estimated 15.2 million vehicles.

Eying the potential of the world’s largest new energy car market, domestic and foreign automakers have been developing a plethora of e-vehicles for the country.

Tesla, the highest-valued car producer in the US with market capitalization of more than $60 billion, is reported to be working with the Shanghai government to explore the possibility of setting up a factory.