广播听力: Automakers Fight for a Share of the World's Largest Auto Market

Organizers of the 2010 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition are hailing this year's event, dubbing it one of the most important auto shows in the world. CRI's Larry Chen was at the opening on Friday, and reports that the scale of this year's exhibition seems to mirror this country's overall auto market.

That's the sound of just one of almost 90 debuts that opened the Auto China 2010 show today.

With over 2,000 companies participating in 2 separate grand venues in the 2010 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, organizers are aiming to show that the global economic crisis will not slow down China's booming auto market. The show itself is larger than the previous exhibition held in Beijing in 2008, with a total of 990 vehicles displayed, including 89 world debuts.

The increase in the show's size reflects the fierce competition among domestic and international automakers for a slice of the world's largest auto market. Vehicle sales volume in China in 2009 increased 48% from the previous year. This year's first-quarter auto sales rose 72% from a year earlier to over 4.6 million vehicles.

Visitors and, automakers hope, potential car-buyers, will surely make their way to catch a glance at vehicles from domestic companies as well a