Zhou Chuoming, vice-president of the Shanghai International Exhibition Co., Ltd., said all 80,000 square meters of the exhibition space had been booked, though the exhibition is still over five months away.

International auto giants, such as Volkswagen and General Motors, major domestic producers and well-known spare parts manufacturers from more than 20 countries and regions would take part in the exhibition at the Shanghai New International Exposition Center, he said.

Among those on display would be sedans, coaches, vehicles for commercial use, spare parts, new technologies and materials, manufacturing, testing and maintenance equipment and facilities, in addition to a large number of concept motors, Zhou added.

Other co-sponsors of the exhibition include the China Automotive Industry Association, the Shanghai and automotive industry branches of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and the IMAG company from Germany.

Jiang Lei, deputy head of the China Automotive Industry Association, noted that the exhibition would the only major international auto show in Shanghai municipality in 2003.

(Xinhua News Agency November 18, 2002)