Foreign-funded and joint venture automakers at the ongoing 22nd Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition are pursuing intelligence and electrification transformation and striving to align with China's advancements in the field.
The exhibition kicked off in south China's Guangdong Province on Friday, with new energy vehicles catching the spotlight.
Japan's largest automaker Toyota Motor Corp. said that in the first 10 months of this year, its luxury Lexus models sold nearly 150,000 vehicles in the Chinese market, a year-on-year increase of about three percent and more than half of the models were electrified.
Li Hui, Executive Vice-President of Lexus China, said that the impressive performance has inspired them to keep up with the pace of China's new energy vehicle development.
"We will accelerate our pace. When we look at the speed and pace of product launches, almost every product incorporates the requirements of electrification technology," said Li.
In addition, Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., a joint venture enterprise, will launch its first pure electric vehicle model in 2025.
This auto show also saw the concentrated demonstration of new energy vehicles from famous German auto brands like Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
In May, China's SAIC Motor signed a cooperation agreement with Volkswagen's premium brand Audi, officially launching the joint development of the Advanced Digitized Platform. Their first car model will be on offer next year.
"We are doing everything new. We are not only creating a new platform, the Advanced Digitized Platform, new car with completely new design language, but even a new brand, a new interpretation of our brand. So the plan is to go big, to make it long term. And we are very confident because of the reactions we have seen so far with the project, with a car, with the brand. So we are very confident that we are moving ahead in the transformation of Audi China," said Fermin Soneira, CEO of Audi and SAIC Cooperation Project.
Automakers at Guangzhou auto show pursue trendy electrification transformation
China has intensified efforts to streamline payment options for foreign visitors this year, aimed at enhancing their travel experience and boost inbound tourism, which has seen steady growth in recent years.
From January to November, the number of foreign arrivals in China surged by 86.2 percent year on year, reaching 29.2 million.
This influx of tourists has been accompanied by a significant rise in the use of foreign payment methods.
In the first half of this year alone, transaction volumes of foreigners using overseas wallet apps to pay for goods and services in China increased more than sevenfold, according to data from NetsUnion Clearing Corporation, a Chinese online payment clearing house under the People's Bank of China.
During the same period, the number of foreign wallet transactions in China hit 28.75 million, up 5.29 times from the previous year. Meanwhile, transaction volume reached 5.32 billion yuan (about 729 million U.S. dollars), a 7.67-fold increase from last year's figures.
Overseas bank cards are now widely accepted across China, and Chinese mobile payment giants Alipay and WeChat Pay have integrated Visa and Mastercard, allowing foreign visitors to pay seamlessly like locals. "We managed to link our two credit cards to Alipay, and everything worked fine. We looked on the Internet, there are some blogs that explain how to create your Alipay account and how to link your credit card. We only paid with the QR code, almost did not use cash," said a foreign visitor.
"Our collaboration with Alipay and WeChat, is just the first start. Really what it enabled is our global network, our global consumer base, and our global partner network with all the financial institutions. And also another good example is we just announced in September that the Beijing subway can accept direct Mastercard payment. So, as an inbound traveler to Beijing, for them to take subway, they just need to tap their Mastercard at the gate and they can enter the subway," said Dennis Chang, president of Mastercard Greater China.
In September, Beijing's subway system launched a service allowing passengers to tap their Mastercard or Visa card at the gate, eliminating the need for physical tickets.
Since Sept 13, a total of 490 stations across the city's subway network have adopted this new system, further improving convenience for foreign visitors.
China expands payment options for int'l inbound tourists
