(Yicai Global) June 24 -- Chinese carmaker Cowin Auto released its new sports utility vehicle this week, the ‘Showjet,’ with an attractive price tag targeting low to medium-sized budgets, as car buying remains downbeat amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Designed by Lowie Vermeersch, the ex-chief designer at Italian car design firm Pininfarina, the SUV has a starting price of just CNY53,900 (USD7,622).

First-time car buyers will likely have a budget of around CNY60,000, exactly within the Cowin Showjet price range, Deputy General Manager Liu Hongwei told Yicai Global.

Despite auto sales shrinking dramatically in China over the last two years, insiders believe that vehicles priced below CNY100,000 (USD14,140) could still do well.

"We will keep the pricing of Cowin’s upcoming car models under CNY150,000 over the next five years," Liu said.

Judging from recent consumption trends in the auto market, first-tier markets show a prominent upgrading trend, while the markets in third- and fourth-tier cities, and even smaller ones, still have a lot of buying potential, Liu added.

Originally part of Wuhu, Anhui province-based Chery Automobile, Cowin Auto’s manufacturing base was relocated to Yibin, Sichuan province following a buyout from Yibin Automotive Industry Development Investment and famed Chinese distiller Wuliangye Yibin Company in 2018. Chery still holds a 49 percent stake in Cowin.

The new plant has an annual production capacity of 150,000 units, and it is one of only a handful of local brands, despite many large domestic and overseas carmakers having factories in the southwestern province. Last year, Sichuan’s vehicle output reached 1.1 million units.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor