Abstract
This paper attempts to clarify the relations between Chinese auto-product management system and the entry into the automobile industry of two domestic companies, Chery and Geely. It also tries to identify those factors that impeded the development of the Chinese automobile industry and those that stimulated the sustained auto mobilization of China by the end of the 1990s. For example, the List of Company and Product (LCP) which was used to control the number of car manufacturers in China was based on an old standard of GB9417-85 which was laid down in 1989. It employed a tacit understanding of the Sedan as the standard for passenger cars without giving an exact definition of it. As a result, the mismatch between the prescribed standard and the understanding of passenger cars gave domestic companies an opportunity to sell passenger cars under registration as micro-buses. In conclusion, we will show that the LCP impeded the entry of Chery and Geely into the market, while it greatly helped them in generating their own independent R & D capacity.
