GROUP Exklusiv, which already has three mainland marques on the road, says it has many more China brands waiting in the wings.

Executive director Kevin Kwee won't give names or the exact number of makes, but he does give a big hint.

"If you look at our facilities island-wide, we can easily handle 10 brands," he says.

On Friday last week, Group Exklusiv launched two Chinese makes - Dongfeng and Soyat. Both were unveiled here in January but only received Land Transport Authority approval a couple of weeks ago.

Dongfeng, which means "east wind" in Mandarin, is based in Hubei province and makes mostly buses and goods vehicles. In 2005 it produced 600,000 vehicles.

Group Exklusiv has imported the Dongfeng Star, a 1.3-litre minivan available either as an eight-seat multi-purpose vehicle or a two-seat commercial unit. These are priced at $43,900 and $23,900 respectively.

As for Soyat, which is based in Wuxi, the 2.2-litre Junda, sport-utility vehicle, made under licence from Isuzu of Japan, costs $63,888.

Group Exklusiv has had the franchise for another Chinese brand, Geely, since October last year. So far about 350 units of the sole CK model have found their way on to Singapore roads.

But with the introduction last month of an automatic version of the 1.5-litre sedan, Group Exklusiv says it has received a flood of orders. Also planned is the launch of a second model by the Zhejiang-based carmaker, the MK.

So why is Group Exklusiv - which used to sell Renault and Volkswagen but now only represents Skoda - focusing so strongly on Chinese cars?

One reason is the difficulty in breaking into the Japanese market, where franchise holders have long and usually strong relationships with their principals. But Mr Kwee is also points to another factor - the potential of Chinese car makers.

"Look at Japanese cars 30 years ago. Look at where they are now," he says. And what about the Korean carmakers. They took 15-20 years to become credible.

"The Chinese will take less time than that," he reckons. "In five to seven years, Chinese cars will have the same volume here as the Korean segment now."

Group Exklusiv is so confident of making inroads into the Singapore market that in two years it expects to be selling 5,000 Chinese cars annually, with Geely accounting for half that number. Last year, about 116,900 new cars were registered in Singapore.

"Our philosophy is to go for volume," says Group Exklusiv chairman Peter Kwee. "If not, it will be difficult."

He tells his principals that his company will be a multi-brand one but assures them that there will be no dilution of any brand, he says.

Kevin Kwee says China has more than 100 vehicle brands but not all are exportable.

"We have to be selective and identify the right product for the region," he says. "We look for three factors - design, quality and the right price."

A car's design must be modern, the vehicle must be reliable and there must be good factory back-up and distribution channels.

"That is why we are taking longer to launch a car," he says, referring to Dongfeng's official launch about six months after its initial introduction in January.

Besides Geely, Dongfeng and Soyat, two other mainland marques are available in Singapore.

Chery - the first to arrive, in July last year - has the biggest line-up with five models. And Chery's distributor owns the other Chinese brand, Hafei. But industry talk has it that several Singapore distributors are looking to import Chinese makes, with a couple very close to clinching partnerships.

"Every big company is looking keenly at the Chinese brands," says the boss of a local dealership. "It's the next wave."