TNS Blog
COUNTRY ROAD, (DON'T) TAKE ME HOME
March 18th, 2009
The reluctant march home Twenty million migrant workers from the Chinese countryside, who have lost their jobs in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, do not wish to go home. Driven by the export boom, nearly 130 million rural Chinese had left their farms to toil in urban workshops and construction sites, sending money home to supplement the meager agricultural income. Unfortunately last year the Wall Street brought down the Main Street, which in turn resulted in the closure of factories in China which churned out products enjoyed by American consumers with borrowed money. Last month the Chinese government revealed [...]
BIG REMAINS BEAUTIFUL!
March 11th, 2009
After the fuel price hike last summer and the subsequent rise in consumption tax for large displacement vehicles, there were speculations that China may develop into a small car market. Since then, the economic downturn has hit the mainland but the debate remains unresolved. Many people hail the recent sales tax cut for low displacement vehicles from 10% to 5%, introduced by the Chinese government to boost the sales of small cars, as a measure that will solve a multitude of problems. Indeed, January figures have shown a substantial increase in small car sales. However, the general elation about this alleged [...]
BIG IS BEAUTIFUL!
October 2nd, 2008
After several measures taken by the Chinese government to limit the use of large engine displacement cars, such as the increase of fuel prices in June or the raise of consumption tax for large displacement vehicles in September, there is widespread speculation about how China's auto market will evolve in the future. Prompted by a slowdown of new car sales over the last couple of months, many observers wonder whether China will develop towards small sized cars now. The answer to this question is a determined no. In the near future, substantial sales volumes will still be generated in the medium [...]
GREEN IS IN!
July 10th, 2008
Oil prices are soaring and auto markets around the world are starting to decline due to reluctant consumer demand. The US seems to be hardest hit, but we are also hearing disturbing news concerning falling new car sales figures in Europe. So will China's car market also be affected by the rising oil prices? Although the Central government is tightly controlling fuel prices, prices at the pump were recently increased by nearly 18%. While this figure represents quite a large increase, it still only puts the cost of one litre of gasoline at just above 6 RMB (equivalent to 60 EUR [...]
