Celebrating Giant: China's 10-millionth auto in 2009 rolls off the production line of the China FAW Group in Changchun on October 20

Compared with advanced countries, China's auto industry has lagged behind in resource utilization, production level, technological value, auto modeling, overseas marketing and customer services, said Teng.

In 2006, China's auto exports exceeded auto imports for the first time, and in 2007 its auto exports stood at a record high total of 614,000 units. But among these, trucks, buses and small vans accounted for about 80 percent.

The biggest part of auto exports went to Asian and African countries, with Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Viet Nam and Algeria accounting for China's top five export destination auto markets. Exports to Europe and the United States amounted to only fractions of a percent.

In addition to exporting, China also lags far behind advanced countries in its brand influence and customer services, said Zhang.

Advanced countries also surpass China in the core technology of electric apparatus in high-end cars, he added.

Compared with Europe and the United States, China's auto industry is big but not strong, especially in indigenous creation, said Dong Yang, Deputy Director of the China Association for Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

To date, China's independent domestic brands hold only 25 percent of the market share, leaving a 75-percent share occupied by foreign companies. This means that out of the more than 10 million cars manufactured in China, over 7.5 million are not created by China, but are simply produced in China. China's local auto producers have not grown into real owners of the Chinese auto market as a result of their weak ability in indigenous creation and brand building.

China's sales volume for new automobiles will exceed the United States this year, said Dong, who also pointed out that the sales volume does not signify any strategic advances in China's auto industry, since no significant changes have taken place on the research and development level or market scale.

"Different from the United States featuring a mature auto society, China is still a baby in this respect, lagging far behind the former in auto research and development, management, market scale, customer service, as well as auto culture," Dong said.

Although China has reached an annual output of 10 million units, its auto penetration is less than 5 percent, much lower than the 78.7-percent rate of the United States, Dong said.

To be a strong auto country, China still has a long way to drive, Dong said.

According to the Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei, China must reach three standards before it becomes a strong auto country, namely, boasting a world-acclaimed competitive auto brand, knowing how to tap both Chinese and overseas markets while possessing a certain percentage of the international market share, and mastering the core and most up-to-date technologies that propel the development of the global auto industry.

"We must have a clear view in our mind that the auto industry is confronted with a new situation and new challenges as the world is undergoing great changes and development. We must seize this opportunity to improve China from a big auto producer into a strong auto country," Miao said.

Chinese Auto Market

From January to September 2009, China achieved an auto output and sales volume of 9.61 million and 9.66 million, respectively, an increase of 32.01 percent and 34.24 percent year on year. During the same period, passenger vehicles realized production and sales of 7.16 million and 7.24 million, respectively, a record high increase of 37.93 percent and 41.9 percent year on year. The production and sales volume for commercial vehicles stood at 2.46 million and 2.42 million, respectively, up 17.35 percent and 15.59 percent year on year.

Propelled by the high growth rate of auto production and sales, China's auto industry reversed its downturn by achieving a double-digit increase in main business revenue and total profit. From January to August this year, China's auto industry realized a main business revenue and profit of 1,890.6 billion yuan ($278 billion) and 122.3 billion yuan ($18 billion), respectively, an increase of 10.27 percent and 17.57 percent year on year.

According to CAAM, in September, China exported 30,500 automobiles, an increase of 38.98 percent month on month, decreasing by 36.7 percent year on year. From January to August, China exported 217,400 automobiles, a decrease of 57.17 percent year on year. Although its export decrease narrowed slightly, China's auto export as a whole still remained sluggish.