article_snippet.sent: Shanghai, ChinaCNN)When China's biggest auto show opens in Shanghai this week, the only models on display will be the ones with four wheels.
article_snippet.sent: The focus, instead, will be the latest offerings from an array of global car manufacturers, which -- models or not -- are pulling out all the stops to compete for Chinese customers in what since 2009 has been the world's largest car market.
article_snippet.sent: It sells several hundred of It super-luxury vehicles in China each year, and in Shanghai this week will launch It latest model, the Phantom Limelight.
article_snippet.sent: Vehicle sales in China totaled 23.5 million units last year, almost a third more than in the United States.
article_snippet.sent: However, CNN)When China's biggest auto show comes at a turning point for China's auto market, which is facing a second year of slower growth in 2015 after a decade-long sales and production frenzy.
article_snippet.sent: Intense competition for China's drivers means that car manufacturers are increasingly developing vehicles that cater to Chinese preferences.
article_snippet.sent: Nissan will use Auto Shanghai 2015 to unveil the Lannia mid-size sedan, which Nissan says has been specially created for "the rising young Chinese generation.
article_snippet.sent: The country's gearheads have embraced the SUV or sport utility vehicle, sales of which jumped a third last year, and many will feature in the displays planned by dozens of European, Japanese U.S., South Korea and Chinese automakers.
article_snippet.sent: a third last year MG, once known for a third last year sleek sports cars and now owned by Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp, enters the fray with The SUV, while Ford will give two new luxury SUVs Ford China market debut --  the Lincoln MKX and Lincoln Navigator, the latter favored by hip hop stars.
article_snippet.sent: Foreign brands have dominated sales in the past two years, but as Foreign brands improve product quality and design, local rivals like Geely, which also owns Sweden's Volvo, and Great Wall Motor are clawing back market share, especially when it comes to SUVs.
article_snippet.sent: It would be the first car made in China to hit U.S showrooms and may pave the way for Chinese brands to shake up the U.S. market like Japanese and Korean car manufacturers
article_snippet.sent: With car ownership still at much lower levels than the U.S. and Europe, China is likely to remain the industry's most important market for decades.
article_snippet.sent: especially brands like Audi that have been the ride of choice for Chinese officials.
article_snippet.sent: Just maybe, China will need those car babes to boost sales after all.
highlights_snippet.sent: The Shanghai Auto Show is a key event for global automakers .
  
highlights_snippet.sent: the status symbol Cars once were in China .