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Shanghai. Foreign and Chinese carmakers unveiled plans on Tuesday to ratchet up investment and introduce new models in China as Shanghai's auto show opened with all eyes on the world's largest car market.

World premieres at the show include Volkswagen's new retro-styled Beetle, General Motors' new Chevrolet Malibu, Buick Envision, and its China-only Baojun 630, and France's PSA Group introducing its Citroen DS5.

"China continues to present an unparalleled opportunity for our company -- and for our competition," said Tim Lee, the Shanghai-based president for GM International Operations.

As the first auto show since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan, source of a large number of auto components, Shanghai also will allow the industry and analysts to gauge the impact of the catastrophe on the sector.

Since the previous Shanghai auto show in 2009, China has overtaken the United States as the world's top car market and the event has accordingly emerged as one of the world's biggest auto fairs.

Signifying the hopes for further Chinese growth, US giant Ford Motor Company announced plans to introduce 15 new vehicles to China by 2015 as it ramps up efforts to increase its share of the world-leading market.

"This plan reinforces our commitment to offer a full range of vehicles to new car buyers in China, the world's biggest and most exciting auto market," said Joe Hinrichs, chairman and chief executive of Ford China.

Ford's rival General Motors, the leading foreign automaker in China by sales, said on Monday it aimed to more than double sales in the country by 2015.

GM China Group President Kevin Wale said the US auto giant aimed to capitalise on "the unmatched opportunities that the Chinese market offers" and sell around five million cars a year by 2015, up from 2.35 million last year.

German automaker Audi's Q3 sports utility vehicle was making its world debut in Shanghai, with chief executive Rupert Stadler saying Tuesday China was "set to become our largest sales market worldwide" in 2011.

"The Chinese market has long been a very important market for us," he said.

Auto sales in China rose more than 32 percent last year to a record 18.06 million units as the nation's economy quickly powered out of the world economic downturn.

Automakers are also seeking to get a foot in the burgeoning "green" car market in China, whose government is encouraging local companies to make electric cars in a drive to reduce the country's notorious air pollution and conserving energy.

China's FAW Group said Tuesday it will invest $1.5 billion to develop clean energy vehicles in the next five years while Guangzhou Automobile Group said it will work with its joint-venture partner Honda Group Co to make electric cars.

The show, which opened Tuesday to the media, covers 230,000 square metres (2.5 million square feet) of exhibition space, organisers said.

About 2,000 car and parts makers from 20 countries are participating, showcasing 75 new car models, 19 of them making their world premieres. A total of 1,100 vehicles will be on display.

Having already conquered China's coastal areas and first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, the industry is increasingly looking to less-developed car markets in the country's vast interior for future growth.

GM's Baojun, for example is a compact sedan priced between $10,000 and $15,000 that the company says was designed for young drivers in second- and third-tier cities, home to tens of millions of people with growing buying power.

Organisers expect 700,000 people to visit the show over the six days that it is open to the public beginning on Sunday.

AFP