民众的反垄断调查的态度

Foreign carmakers operating in China have often been accused of pricing their vehicles artificially high. Earlier this month, an anti-trust investigation was launched, targeting many top foreign car brands. Reporter Liu Yang is at the 2014 Chengdu international auto show, and finds out what people there think of the anti-monopoly probe.

The 2014 Chengdu international auto show, will -- of course -- showcase the world’s hottest, fastest and most expensive cars built by iconic auto makers such as ‍Lamborghini and Ferrari. ‍But given their high price tags, these cars are just here to be seen, not sold. Other common foreign brands like Audi, Mercedes-benz, and BMW are quite popular here in the Chinese market, and have recently become the top targets in the anti-trust investigation in China’s auto industry.‍”

China’s National Development and Reform Commission launched the anti-monopoly investigation earlier this month.

Mercedes-Benz came under scrutiny for illegal business actions. German manufacturer Audi and US carmaker Chrysler were found guilty of taking over the pricing rights for parts and maintenance services from dealerships.

Car buyers hope that things will now begin to change.

"e all know there’s a huge difference in price between foreign and domestic vehicles, especially high-end cars. We hope prices will be more impartial," A car buyer said.

Faced with imminent penalties, several luxury automakers have announced price cuts in the past few weeks.

Land Rover reduced the price of its three models by an average of 200,000 yuan.

Mercedes-Benz announced it would slash prices for spare parts by up to 29%, while reducing the overall price of its vehicles by up to 15%.

Luxury car brands are eager to retain a foothold in what is the largest auto market in the world.

"China is part of overall strategy globally, always remain important in the market, as I mentioned earlier, we are serving very small number of discerning customers, we also have obligations to our customers in China, we are certainly continue to expand our presence to here in china to serve our Chinese customers,” Henrik Wilhelmsmeyer, director of China Branch, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said.

Experts say the current investigation will certainly give more space to domestic car makers and consumers, and bring fairer competition to the Chinese market.