The race for the hearts and minds of China’s luxe car buyers is on, as Aston Martin joins BMW and Audi in upping production and overall presence in China.

The China Daily reports that Aston Martin opened its flagship China showroom in Beijing this past week.

The store, located at 66 Jinbao Street, Chaoyang District, is more than twice as big as Beijing’s other two Aston Martin stores and is the largest in Asia Pacific. The 500 sq m showroom will display seven of the luxury vehicles each costing roughly 1.3 million yuan.

Given that Aston Martins are typically more expensive than BMW, Mercedes or Audi vehicles, this move suggests that the demand is outstripping supply. This points to a new opening in the market for the super-rich.

While the entire article is interesting, because it further illustrates the growth in luxury goods and demand in Asia, there’s one quote in particular that is quite revealing of the way luxe brands are thinking about China.

Matthew Bennett, regional director for Aston Martin Asia-Pacific, said the following:

“(Beijing) has a growing appreciation for luxury goods and an authenticity of a product, that’s what we’ve been seeing. … ”This is the place to be.”

The phrasing is interesting, too. The “authenticity of a product” suggests a targeting of the Lambda personalities, who prefer both high quality and an air of exclusivity to their purchases.

Another statistic worth noting is that about 80 Aston Martin vehicles were sold in China last year. Even upping that number to 100 would allow Aston Martin to retain its shine of exclusivity.

Asia is continuing to serve as the luxury industry’s bright spot amongst an otherwise dismal global market, due largely to the recession. I wrote previously about BMW seeing growth in its Chinese market, which triggered a planned seven-fold increase in its China production capacity.

It appears that the phenomenon is not limited to BMW. Other luxe car companies are seeing considerable increases in the number of cars sold year on year. AFP reports:

Audi said earlier that it had sold 8.9 percent more cars in November on a 12-month basis, with Chinese sales leaping by 101.9 percent to 16,503 vehicles as the company surpassed its annual sales target there, a statement said.

This signals yet another instance where China is making gains whilst Japan tries to pull its luxe market back into place. Since I wrote in November that Japan was facing a loss of confidence by luxe retailers, investment into lesser-known Asian luxe markets has moved forward. As China continues to liberalise its economy, its luxe industry will only grow further.