Abstract
It is important to understand urban auto markets from a spatial perspective. Specifically, the question of how to simplify and visualize the relatedness of the complicated urban markets arises. Based on the concept of ‘product space’, this research explores the similarity between Chinese cities and identifies the city clusters using data of automobile sales in 2012. A city’s automobile market is shared by different manufacturers and the proximity between two cities is evaluated based on the similarity or relatedness in the structure of the two markets. The spatial structures of the ‘city clusters’ derived from the proximities of automobile markets among cities are mapped, examined, and interpreted. The analysis indicates that cities with higher proximity tend to be similar. According to the intercity proximity index, four geographical city-clusters are identified: the Southeast developed city-cluster, North China city-cluster, Northeast city-cluster, and West city-cluster. Cities in the same cluster tend to share many common characteristics while cities in different clusters exhibit obvious variances, especially in terms of economic status and dominant automakers.
Highlights
It is important to study the automobile markets in Chinese cities
As the market economy develops in China, all urban markets are full of competition from different automobile manufacturers, resulting in uneven market shares acquired by different automakers
Limited research concerning the spatial distribution of overall automobile sales across Chinese cities, especially the spatial pattern of automobile markets composed of different automobile manufacturers, has been published due to the lack of relevant data [12].Regarding car sales, it is important to study the factors affecting car ownership and purchase preferences
Summary
It is important to study the automobile markets in Chinese cities. they have recently drawn great international attention. Wang and Yang [3] revealed that both brand personality and the image of the origin country exert significant effects on vehicle purchase intention in China. Since China has become one of the largest automobile markets, more research in terms of automobile markets and the influencing factors should be conducted for a better understanding of urban and regional changes. Limited research concerning the spatial distribution of overall automobile sales across Chinese cities, especially the spatial pattern of automobile markets composed of different automobile manufacturers, has been published due to the lack of relevant data [12].Regarding car sales, it is important to study the factors affecting car ownership and purchase preferences. More research is needed to explore such factors in China
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