Earlier this year, an automotive icon took to the roads of China’s tropical Hainan Island.
Chevrolet, a name long associated with American classic cars, was launching a new model and wanted to introduce it to the wider world with a sense of style and purpose.
The Chevrolet Aveo is part of a new generation of US-designed and Asian-built cars. Labelled a subcompact sedan, the Chevrolet Aveo is designed to be economical both in pricing and in its petrol usage, a factor that is becoming a major selling point as oil prices continue to spike further upward.
As China’s increasingly affluent urbanites start buying their own vehicles, the world’s major car producers need to get their brands and models known across the country, through advertising, marketing promotions and public relations campaigns. The prize is a slice of the largest car market in the world.
General Motors, which owns the Chevrolet brand, is determined to enter all the market niches and the Aveo was designed as a perfect entry-level car for budget- but style-conscious first-time car buyers.
The Chevrolet Aveo was to be introduced to a group of invited media and specially selected Chevrolet VIPS. There were 220 guests in total, 160 of them from the media, and the overwhelming majority from the Chinese mainland.
Around 50 new cars were shipped to the island from mainland China, where a modern assembly plant near Shanghai is busy with the models rolling off the production lines.
The cars were displayed along the Kempinski Resort’s lawn at the hotel’s entrance and hotel general manager Rudi Scherb personally welcomed the invited Chevrolet VIPS.
Instead of a formal dinner, a cocktail reception on the garden lawn and separate dinner in a hotel restaurant was arranged. The event got into full swing with some dance numbers and then models of the human variety presented three different coloured Aveos to the crowd on a specially constructed stage.
As the event was organised under the night sky, facing the ocean, and close to the pool area, the organisers were able to incorporate a spectacular fountain show accompanied by beach fireworks to impress their guests.
The official Chevrolet Aveo promotion video was shown by projecting the images on the water.
After a night’s rest at the hotel, the following day, the guests had the opportunity to test-drive the new Chevrolet Aveos along the stunning 17 km coastline of Sanya Bay West.
“Feedback from the client and guests praised the hotel for its service and co-operation,” says Joanna Lin, the hotel’s marketing and communications manager.
