SHANGHAI: The economic crisis and sagging sales have not dampened global car makers enthusiasm on China, the lone market that bucked the global trend last year, if one were to judge the response to the biennial Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition which opened yesterday.

"The Shanghai automobile show has become the largest show for Mercedes-Benz globally, and is comparable only to the Frankfurt Motor Show," said Klaus Maier, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd.

Maier's optimism is ably backed up by the year-on-year sales growth of more than 30 percent in China during the first quarter.