Cars, it has been said, define Americans. Now the same can be said for the Chinese.

China is shifting to a new generation of drivers. They are more affluent than their predecessors and own multiple cars. Their wealth has China on track to become the world's second-largest luxury-vehicle market by 2016 and the market leader by 2020, according to a recently released study by global-management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

But their upscale vehicle choices also say a lot about who they are.

"In the United States, we can't understand the importance that putting on a good face in front of others has in China," says Tim Dunne, director of global automotive industry analysis for California-based marketing information services company JD Power and Associates.

"Western culture has this attribute. It is important to put on airs and be well-thought of. But in China it is much more heightened, much more acute."

In the US, one can easily find people who defy conventional behavior, who say "I don't care what others think about me. I'm doing my own thing," Dunne says. "That doesn't exist as much in China. There is more of a need to conform and embrace conventional norms."

That is why, he says, when Westerners visit Asia, they buy "knock-offs" and other inexpensive copies of luxury items available there, simply to grab a bargain. "But when Asians visit the US, the first thing they do is buy the genuine, most expensive items at the most upscale stores so they can show 'I've arrived'".

"Reaching for the pinnacle is much more culturally important in China than it may be here," Dunne says.

The facts are these: Eighty percent of Chinese premium car owners have annual disposable household income of more than 200,000 yuan, according to the McKinsey report. By 2020, China is expected to have 23 million affluent urban households.

Deliveries to China of luxury cars - which JD Power defines as priced at $50,000 and up - are expected to reach 2.25 million by 2016 in China, by McKinsey's estimates, surging to 3 million by 2020.

That compares with luxury car sales of 675,000 in China last year, representing 5 percent of the country's 14.1 million passenger vehicle sales, Dunne said.

Lured by these statistics, numerous manufacturers, including the US leader, General Motors Co, have moved into the Chinese luxury market. GM - which is seen as progressing farther in its overtures to China than any of its US rivals - has been taking dead aim at Chinese buyers who have already have embraced Audi, BMW and other foreign luxury brands.

GM said earlier that sales of its luxury Cadillac line for February rose 8.1 percent from last February to a record 2,295 units, helped by a 36.6 percent surge in sales of the SRX luxury utility vehicle. To broaden a product line that already includes its Cadillac XTS, GM plans to start making its smaller, entry-level ATS model at plants in China later this year.

McKinsey's study portrays the Chinese luxury car buyer as obsessed with presenting a successful image. Many younger buyers see the car as a "business card" for credibility, according to the study. And in choosing a car, male buyers favor "socially recognized" premium brands, the study says. (In contrast, female buyers put a priority on exterior styling, safety features and comfort, according to the study.)

The study notes that in general, premium car buyers are optimistic about the future. A quarter of those surveyed say they have "a high degree of confidence in their career and business prospects and therefore spend more lavishly", according to the study.

McKinsey's research also finds that the longer that buyers have been exposed to premium vehicles, the greater their level of sophistication in choosing a car. The car itself is expected to reflect "the buyer's social status and lifestyle needs", the study says.

Thus, in cities where premium vehicles are less widely sold, buyers tend to need the reassurance of a strong brand and reputation more than in cities long exposed to luxury brands, according to the study. These buyers also "rely heavily on word-of-mouth advertising and the in-store experience when deciding which model to buy".

"Circles of influences" composed of family members, friends and business colleagues help reinforce the importance of presenting a successful image by building word-of-mouth awareness of particular brands, the study says.

McKinsey finds that Internet searches, special events and product displays at stores influence Chinese buyers. By comparison, German buyers are more influenced by salespeople.

While image building is an important part of choosing a car, owners rated safety as the "number one" concern, the study finds.

(China Daily 03/22/2013 page10)