Taxi! China passengers to hail London's black cabs

Many Chinese auto makers, including state-owned big auto groups such as SAIC Motor Corp and Dongfeng Motor Group Co, have set their sights on mature markets, hoping to emulate the success of Toyota Motor.

Geely, known for making China's most economical car priced as low as 29,800 yuan ($4,360), cheaper than a vehicle license in Shanghai, has never kept its ambitions of being a global player a secret.

It rolled out several higher-end models during the Shanghai auto show in April to take on foreign auto brands, such as Volkswagen AG, which currently dominates the lucrative mid-to-higher end segment in the country.

"We have been making cheap cars for 10 years. But we started to change our strategy since mid-2007. Like our chairman Li Shufu had said, we now want to make the best, safest and most environmentally-friendly cars," added Lau, also vice president of Geely group.

($1=6.834 Yuan)

($1=.6113 Pound)