The Chinese government is a massive organisation, Americans are often discussing the benefits of big governments v’s small governments, and they often regularly change their mind as to what they want over an eight year cycle. The Chinese government doesn’t go through these cycles of change, so we get big government all the time. A big government needs to get around, and what better way to do it than by automobile!

The Chinese government is no cheapskate when it comes to automotive purchases, like their American cousins across the sea, they like sedans, they like their MPV’s and they like them in black.

Government auto purchases, the facts:

• Provincial heads, and mayors can buy a car with a displacement upto 3.0L, and must be priced less than 450,000rmb ($65,000USD)
• Vice provincial heads, and vice mayors can spend up to 350,00rmb ($51,000USD)
• BMW expects to sell 10,000 cars to the government this year
• The government purchased 20% of all Audi’s sold in China in 2008.
• Chinese government bought 39,500 vehicles in the year 2000.
• In 2007, the Chinese government bought 500,000 vehicles, spending 80 billion RMB in the process.

Government automotive procurement figures for 2008 have not yet been released by the government, but it is expected to be larger than the 2007 numbers.

An internet thunderstorm has been brewing for the past few days in the Chinese blogosphere as BMW has entered the governments procurement catalog for the first time. This catalog of cars is for government ministers, ministry departments and sub departments. BMW’s entry into the catalog means that BMW sedans, hatches will quickly become ‘government cars’ (官车). Obviously in tight economic times, Chinese netizens are far from pleased about the announcement, and soon kicked up storm on the internet. CCT has translated some of the comments below:

Why doesnt the government think about buying Chinese brands? Our own government doesnt support our own brand cars, do Chinese cars have a future?

Strongly request that the government buys Apache attack helicopters for getting to work.

Every official should use 1.0L or small cars, the emissions are lower, more economical etc etc. Give the common man some advantages!

Strongly support Geely to become government cars

Soon they’ll be ale to buy sportscars

Strongly request the government to buy Chinese made bicycles

Strongly request the government buy hand carts.

Village officials should ride bicycles to work, County officials should ride motorbikes, city officials should have 1.0L or less cars. All over officials should take the bus to work

Koreans support their local industry, but Chinese?

Soon it will be Mercs!

Soon they will be in Hummers, but at least then they will driving Chinese cars at last.

To be an official, is the same as making a billion RMB

How will domestic automakers develop if our own government doesn’t support them?

Chinese government is too rich, they’ll trade their cars for F22′s soon.

Does the German government buy Redflag cars?

The vehicle with the lowest emissions is the bicycle, the government uses the common mans money to buy BMW’s, but the common man in China is also the most obedient

To be a government official is glorious!

Before long they will have female drivers for their BMW’s, all aged 18-23, and at least 170cm tall with big breasts

China is so rich now? What about the poor rural areas that have no classrooms, if you drove Chinese made cars, then this would lessen lay offs.

In Gansu province, some people don’t even have clean water to drink. Their yearly income is 3000rmb (500USD), civil servants buying 300,000rmb BMW’s is the equivlant of a Gansu families lifetime income.

As you can see from the small sample of comments above, the majority of people are clearly against the governments plans to introduce BMW models as government cars.