One of the problems that has traditionally beset domestic Chinese auto manufacturers is a perception of low quality and low price among Chinese car buyers. As a result, beyond the lowest entry price point, most Chinese auto buyers opt for foreign brands or, at the very least, joint ventures like Shanghai Volkswagen or Chang'an Ford. This "domestic prejudice" is especially apparent at the high-end, where Mercedes-Benz , BMW and Bentley (the favored brand of China's wealthy elite last year, according to the Hurun Report's "Best of the Best" list) reign supreme - according to Jing Daily.

Year by year, however, Chinese manufacturers are gradually rising to the challenge and producing consistently better models. Though the road ahead is nothing if not paved with uncertainty, the Chinese automaker Huatai appears to be targeting a heretofore underserved niche — the "semi-premium market" - with their newest sedan, the B11. According to China Car Times, which has some spy shots captured at a press event for the B11 held this weekend in China.

As CCT (insightfully) points out, though early spy shots of the B11 elicited no shortage of snark by those who saw Huatai's first premium offering as a "Bentley clone," the production model is sleek and spacious (a nod to the Chinese car buyers’ mantra "longer is better"), and very well could prove a worthy challenger to the foreign-brand-dominated premium market. (Though the ultra-premium market will likely remain the singular domain of the Bentleys, Maybachs and Ferraris of the world for the foreseeable future.) Interestingly enough, the fact that Huatai plans to introduce diesel models of the B11 has CCT speculating that the company may have one eye on the Europe market.

Pictures: Autohome
Source: Jing Daily
Source: China Car Times

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