China Auto Logistics, Inc.: China Auto Logistics Continues to Accelerate Toward National Domestic Auto Website Coverage
TIANJIN CITY, CHINA--(Marketwire - February 24, 2009) - Continuing its brisk expansion aimed at achieving national coverage with its [ www.1365car.com ] website designed to attract and serve the needs of domestic car buyers and dealers, China Auto Logistics Inc. (
Mr. Tong Shiping, CEO and President of the Company, one of China's leading automobile importers, as well as a top provider of one-stop automobile logistics and dealer financing, and the originator of two leading automobile websites, stated: "While a number of factors are driving our vision to become the leading national website for buyers and dealers of domestic Chinese automobiles, there is one fact that stands out. Namely, as confirmed again in the most recent statistics, while China expects this year to surpass the U.S. in auto sales, its population continues to rank significantly below the rest of the world in auto ownership per capita. With less than 40 autos per thousand people, China's consumers compare with an average automobile ownership per thousand of 139 internationally and 600 per thousand in the U.S."
"Further," Mr. Shiping said, "while growth in China continues to outpace the rest of the world, to ensure continued expansion, the Chinese government is providing significant incentives to consumers to expand their automobile purchases. The growth opportunity for our Company in this environment really is quite large."
Mushrooming Auto Buying in Nanjing
The well-known city of Nanjing, capital of the southern province of Jianjsu, and the second largest commercial center in eastern China after Shanghai, reflects particularly strongly the buoyancy of auto sales in China despite the economic storm that is mainly affecting other parts of the world. The Company said that in this ninth city linked to its domestic automobile website, it is currently projected approximately 220,000 autos will be purchased in 2009 in a city of more than 7.2 million people, reflecting year over year growth in sales of about 20%.
Terming this market "promising and exciting," the Company said it is also quite competitive. Right now it has 102 4S shops (car dealerships) among which are the dealerships of such well-known brands as Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Ford. Additionally, Infiniti, Bentley, Porsche and Ferrari, among others, have dealerships in Nanjing selling their high-end cars.
"What we bring to this environment is an ability to deliver the messages of these dealerships to their prospective customers on a 24/7 basis. We have spent a lot of time analyzing their customers and their preferences and also spend lots of time with each dealer. The information we provide, in turn, is highly reliable and in real-time with respect to pricing, promotions and comparable features that are presented very appealingly on vividly designed webpages, with interactive features such as Q & As," Mr. Shiping said.
According to the Company, interest in the Nanjing site was quite strong from the start, quickly jumping to more than 12,000 hits per day as well as generating paid dealer subscriptions. As such, the Company expects to see revenue contributions from the site beginning to develop meaningfully in the second and third quarters this year.
Qingdao -- Home of a Famous Beer and 14.6% GDP Growth in 2008
A beautiful seaside city with a population of 9 million in the southeast part of Shandong Province, and home of the well-known Tsingtao brewery, Qingdao increasingly has become an economically powerful city. In 2008, its per capita GDP was nearly $7,000, up 14.6% from the prior year, ranking it among China's top dozen cities. Further, it is a city with a strong interest in automobiles, home to the third largest international auto show in China which last year drew more than 80,000 attendees on its opening day.
Given the relative wealth and sophistication of its population, car consumers in Qingdao tend to look beyond price as their motivation for buying automobiles. To attract this audience, the Company has added to the features on its website several different services which have led to the site achieving more than 9000 hits per day.
Among the services designed to attract and capture local would-be buyers, the Company has coordinated with China Merchants Bank to provide bank customers the opportunity to test-drive many of the latest model automobiles. Another specifically designed service, and one that perhaps generates the most attention, is called "Personal Buyer." The Company said potential buyers utilizing this service can either call or email their personal auto preferences to a staffer who will then choose models and dealers most closely matching the consumer's preferences with respect to price range, type of car, and features.
Bringing this type of creativity and customization to the needs of the consumers in this city, the Company said it anticipates developing meaningful revenue contributions from its presence in Qingdao by the second or third quarter this year.
Company Description
Founded in 1995, with profitable sales in 2007 of approximately $152 million, the Company has grown to become one of the top importers and sellers of luxury vehicles in China. Imported luxury automobiles, accounting for more than 10% of all Chinese automobile sales revenues, are the fastest growing segment of the still young Chinese automobile industry, now the second largest in the world. The Company has grown sales and profits by becoming one of China's top logistical servicing and financing companies for automobile importers. Additionally, it is a leader in providing accurate pricing and other automobile-related information with its two web portals, [ www.at188.com ], aimed at the import market, and [ www.1365car.tj.cn ], which it is expanding throughout China to reach the much larger market of domestically manufactured automobile purchasers and dealers. Following completion of a successful reverse merger on November 10, 2008, the Company is trading as a fully reporting company in the U.S. with the stock symbol CALG.OB. For additional information, please visit [ www.chinaautologisticsinc.com ].
Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this press release are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, product demand, market competition, and risks inherent in our operations. These and other risks are described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.