Photo/Zhang Jian (NBD)

Mar.31 (NBD) -- After around two months of being put on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak, the auto industry in China is gradually regaining strength as automakers in Hubei resume production.

The hourly production of Chinese automaker Dongfeng Passenger Vehicle Company on Saturday is 30 units, back to the level of 2019, said Zhou Deyuan, the company's deputy general manager in charge of production, when having an interview with National Business Daily (NBD) on Monday.

As one of the auto manufacturing centers in China, Hubei province is home to not only carmakers but also manufacturers of automobile parts. A slew of large auto parts suppliers such as Bosch, Delphi and Joyson Electronics have established plants in the province.

It is also noticed that all first-tier suppliers in Wuhan, Hubei have been approved to resume production and 95 percent of all suppliers have been back to work, removing risks for the carmakers that depend on the supply chain in Hubei.

With the epidemic being brought under control, the car sales market is also warming up.

"Only 4-5 cars were sold in February but over 80 units (100 units in pre-epidemic time) are sold in March," said a salesperson in a GAC Toyota 4s shop in Shanghai on Saturday. The 4S shops of Audi, BMW and Lexus in Beijing were crowded by customers, NBD noticed on Sunday.

To improve sales, many brands are offering heavy discounts. For instance, the Benz GLC series are now 30,000 yuan (4,237.2 U.S. dollars) cheaper and Lexus NX models are 20,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan cheaper.

So far, at least 10 Chinese cities have offered stimulus policies to boost car sales.

"The effects of those policies are expected to show in April when they are fully implemented," said Cui Dongshu, general secretary of the China Passenger Car Association, "the market will further revive in the second quarter".

The great economical achievements of China and over 20 years' development of the auto market will not be erased by an epidemic, remarked Jochen Goller, president and CEO of BMW Group Region China, believing that the auto market is bound to heat up.

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn