China used to have a reputation for being a backwards nation. People would get around by horse and cart, or, if lucky, by bicycle. But all that has been changing in recent years. China has now become one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers – number four behind the United States, Japan, and Germany. In fact, experts say that China is on the verge of taking over Germany’s Number Three status. By the year 2010, it is estimated that China will have emerged as the world’s number one car maker.

This is something of a miracle, considering the fact that it has literally happened overnight. Of course it makes sense that China should become powerful in this arena. They do, after all, have the world’s largest population, numbering at over a billion denizens.

But there has not always been a large demand for cars in China until fairly recently. The country’s growing affluence has enabled more and more people to buy cars than ever before. Thus, the demand has increased in recent years.

In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, basically the only car one ever saw in mainland China was the Santana, a car that was made in China by Volkswagen. The Santana was available in three colors: red, white, and black. Not a whole lot of choice for car owners in China back then; but then again, very few people could afford to own a car in China in those years.

All that has changed with the launch of several Chinese automobile manufacturers, who have begun introducing more affordable models in to the local market – as well as exporting their products around the globe.