BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The world's automakers are to unveil their latest models at a special media opening of the 2008 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition on Sunday.

A record 9,000 journalists, including 1,000 from abroad, will be given a preview of seven models making their global debut at the tenth Beijing auto show, which opens to the public from April 22 to 28.

Organizers expect around 600,000 visitors, including 30,000 from overseas, to the exhibition.

Foreign auto makers hoping the booming China market to offset sales slumps elsewhere in the world.

Auto China 2008 will be held at the enlarged China International Exhibition Center, which reopened late last month at a new site on the northeast outskirts of Beijing.

The exhibition is organized by the country's industry associations and the state-owned enterprises, including the China Machinery Industry Federation, the China National Machinery Industry Corporation, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Altogether 892 vehicles, including 55 concept cars, will be on show in an exhibition area of 180,000 square meters, the organizers said. Twenty-four models would make their debuts in Asia at the show.

Chinese customers would be able to see almost 100 new cars for the first time during the show.

All the world's major automakers, including General Motors, BMW, Toyota and Honda, will exhibit at the show, the organizers said.

Germany's Volkswagen AG, German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota from Japan said the Beijing show was the most important event outside of their home countries.

About 225 overseas manufacturers and more than 1,800 domestic producers will participate in the show, according to organizers.

Many automakers would present their environment-friendly models, including those run on alternative fuels, hybrid and electric cars, said the organizers without giving details.

Some energy-saving technologies still in development would be demonstrated at the Beijing show following their appearance at other overseas shows like that in Detroit in January.

Luxury brands such as Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Ferrari, Maserati, Aston Martin, Porsche, Rolls-Royce and Spyker will also exhibit.

Almost 100 overseas media organizations will cover the event, including the Associated Press, the Washington-based United Press International, Bloomberg, Reuters, AFP, ZDF from Germany, the Asahi Shimbun from Japan.

Among about 8,000 Chinese reporters, most are from outside Beijing.
The show will open exclusively to journalists on Sunday and Monday and to the public from Tuesday.

The biennial exhibition is one of the three major auto shows in China. The other two are staged in Shanghai once every two years since 1989 and annually in Guangzhou.