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Chinese carmakers use Lexus playbook to go upscale amid rising incomes

With car sales surging, local manufacturers don't want to cede the higher-end demographic to foreign brands

Published Wed, Nov 23, 2016 · 09:50 PM

Beijing

CHEAP is no longer chic for China's carmakers.

As more consumers aspire to buy cars and SUVs with some cachet, domestic companies want to shed their reputations as mass-market rides and go upscale with them. Great Wall Motor Co and Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd are unveiling new premium brands they want drivers to consider in the same league as a Lexus or Genesis.