As car clubs flourish and knowledge of tuning culture and specialty products increase, the VW Bora and Golf have emerged as the two most often customized vehicles in China.
In China, the popularity of the Bora can be compared to that of the Honda Civic in the late ’80s and early ’90s in the United States. Both imported and locally made aftermarket parts are widely available for the Bora.
The Bora is sold as the Jetta 4 in the United States, and the Golf is known as the Golf 4 in North America.
The Ford Focus and Japanese brands, including the Subaru WRX, Honda Fit and Civic and Suzuki Swift are also among the list of cars popular to customize. The Peugeot 206 and the Audi A4 are the European cars most frequently customized.
Among SUVs, the top models to accessorize are the Beijing Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and Wranglers, Toyota Landcruiser, Mitsubishi Pajero, Isuzu Rodeo and Chinese brand Jiangling Landwind. In southern and southwestern China, the two most popular vehicles are the Toyota Land Cruiser 80, 100 and Prado and the Jeep Cherokee.
This information is an excerpt from a new SEMA report on the Chinese specialty market. Members can download this report and other information on the Chinese and other international markets at www.sema.org/international.