You can move your office in the e-concept car, go on-line to search for your favourite food, CDs or fashion or films, or buzz your business partners and family with the mobile system installed in the car.

The e-concept car, the latest model to be introduced to the China market, is a star attraction at the sixth Beijing International Auto Show from today to June 12 in Beijing.

The Buick series sedan and W-wagon produced by Shanghai GM, a joint venture of General Motors, the world's largest auto maker, were able to enjoy some of the limelight alongside the cyber car.

Interactive design

The appeal of these models is that Shanghai GM has designed them in response to the needs of customers, said Chen Hong, president of Shanghai GM.

"The needs of the client are our paramount concern in developing new cars. If we fail to meet the requirements of customers, the cars will not sell," he said.

The company keeps up with what customers really want with the latest international sales model, consulting marketing. GM marketing agents offer buyers advice and information relating to cars including car maintenance and quality.

The Buick GL8, a seven-seater wagon for business and family use, was produced in this way based on the results of a GM poll of car buyers in various Chinese cities.

The company believes the improving living standards among residents of China's big cities will lead to a boom in the family car market, the major new target market for its expansion.

"Sales of family cars in China, especially in Shanghai, will skyrocket in the next few years as incomes rise," said Philip Murtaugh, general manager of GM China Inc's Shanghai office.

Generally speaking, he said the private car market will take off when per capita gross domestic product (GDP) exceeds $3,000.

"Shanghai's GDP is already in that territory and I think it is time to talk about putting more fancy family cars onto the market," he said.

Shanghai's per capita GDP shot up to $3,720 last year from $3,400 in 1998. The figure is expected to hit $4,000 by the year-end.

Murtaugh said GM is keeping a close eye on the demand for private vehicles among locals and waiting for the right time to jump into the market.

A recent poll of 1,580 families in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou found nearly 80 per cent wanted cars to be low cost, priced less than 100,000 yuan ($12,000), high-tech and small in size.

Soaring sales

Rising sales of Buick sedans to individual buyers have given GM greater confidence in the prospect of the family car market.

"The number of individuals who have bought our Buicks has exceeded our expectations," he said. Currently, about 10 per cent of Buick buyers are single persons.

Murtaugh, also executive vice-president of Shanghai GM, the production base for Buick sedan in Pudong, believes more effort must be made to diversify the market in China and increase the company's market share.

SGM has decided to double production of Buicks in the new millennium to 50,000 units from 23,000 this year.

The sedan, modelled after its popular US counterpart including the latest high-tech features, was launched in the Chinese market last May. More than 17,000 have been sold and over 20,000 orders secured.

SGM will debut the W-Wagon or Buick GL8, a seven-eight seater suitable for business and long journeys, in June. It is based on the same design as the sedan, with many of the safety and comfort features of the Buick sedan.

The first wagon came off the assembly line in December 1999 and regular production began from May.

GM debuted another new model in April 2000. The Buick GS, the newest member of the Shanghai GM Buick family, will be launched this month.