A total of 460,000 people both from China and overseas have visited Beijing International Auto Show from June 10-16, a record high for the biennial event, organizers said Wednesday in Beijing.

Liang Wen, president of China International Exhibition Center Group Corp, one of the show organizers, said the show, the eighth of its kind, had drawn 50,000 more visitors than the previous event.

The daily number of visitors peaked on June 12 and 13, the weekend, as the daily turnout reached 130,000.

Organizers acknowledged earlier that 1,400 domestic and overseas automobile and auto parts companies took part in the show, involving Ford, Nissan, Audi, Hyundai, BMW, Honda, Volkswagen and other international brands.

China's auto market has become an important part of the world's auto industry, noted experts.

The huge potential in China has attracted almost all famous international auto makers to expand their car business in the country.

In 2003, there were 4.89 million private cars in China, a rise of 42.56 percent over the previous year, according to statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

Source: Xinhua