Chinese Car Buyers Are Picking Up The Slack for Detroit Automakers

Implications: 2008 is shaping up to be the worst year for automakers since 1994, but emerging markets such as China are providing a unique opportunity for the Detroit Three.

Analysis: Things may be bad at home, but the Detroit Three automakers are going gangbusters in the world's fastest growing new-car market, China.

First-quarter data shows that Ford Motor Co. saw a 47 percent increase in sales during the first three months of the year.

Ford wasn't alone. Chrysler saw a big surge as well. Spurred on by the introduction of a Chinese-made version of the Sebring sedan, the automakers Chinese volume doubled.

No numbers yet from General Motors, which has been the 800-pound gorilla among Detroit Three brands targeting the huge Chinese market. Its Buick division is the market's largest nameplate, with GM and Volkswagen locked in a battle for the hearts, minds and pocketbooks of China's fast-growing automotive class.

Cars and concept vehicles, like the Buick Riveria, have given the GM strong momentum, but the increasing competition in the Chinese market has also forced all automakers to hold and even cut prices.

GM risked a lot of criticism-and a huge investment-to get into China early and it has clearly benefited from that decision.

Chrysler's Jeep division, then owned by American Motors Corp., was actually the first foreign-owned brand to land behind the Bamboo Curtain, but the automaker did not take advantage of that position until recently.

Ford was a late-comer to China, but along with its Japanese ally, Mazda, it is now moving aggressively to expand its presence.