Quality vital in overseas push

JAC Chairman An Jin, who also serves as a deputy to the National People's Congress, said domestic vehicle producers can no longer compete solely on low prices, so his company is emphasizing increased quality even as prices remain affordable.

Speaking in Beijing during the first session of the 12th NPC, he said JAC's products are sold in more than 100 countries and regions.

Founded in 1964, JAC is now ranking among top automakers in the country with a full lineup of independent brand vehicles. Its portfolio includes light, medium and heavy-duty trucks, multi-purpose vehicles, small recreation vehicles, sedans, bus chassis, buses, engineering machinery, engines and gearboxes.

The chairman said the company sells about 450,000 vehicles annually, with its overseas business contributing about 15 percent of overall sales volume.

JAC has set a sales target of 1.6 million units and revenues of 100 billion yuan ($16 billion) by the end of 2015, when An said he hopes exports will account for 20 percent of all sales.

JAC is now the top Chinese auto brand in Brazil with the largest market share among its peers. Last year it exported about 10,000 cars to Brazil and delivered 500 light trucks in October alone for the largest single Chinese vehicle contract in the South American nation to date.

The company is also the second-largest commercial vehicle brand in Egypt with more than 5,000 vehicles now on the road.

JAC arrived in Africa in 2001 with a shipment of light-duty trucks to Algeria. By year's end, more than 6,000 light trucks and 3,000 passenger cars were exported to Algeria.

The Chinese automaker has now exported more than 50,000 vehicles of various kinds to Africa over the past 13 years.

JAC has sold vehicles in more than 30 countries on the continent including Egypt, Angola, Algeria, Morocco, South Africa and Ghana. Its range has expanded to include mid-sized and heavy-duty trucks.

In addition to improving quality, the JAC chairman said the company now has more service outlets overseas.

"We will not rush to export to any country without a maintenance network in place," said An.

According to a company statement, "the focus of its customer service is solving problems rapidly and effectively".

In Angola, after drivers complained about loss of power in their heavy-duty trucks, JAC engineers discovered the problem stemmed from a lack of regular maintenance.They then offered maintenance services on site and trained drivers on how to care for vehicles.

Contact the writers at lixin@chinadaily.com.cn and machenguang@chinadaily.com.cn