The Golf GTI has finally been put into production in China and shaved over 50% off the price of the imported model making the GTI the king of the Chinese hot hatch segment. The sixth generation Golf was recently put into production via the FAW-VW joint venture, but this is the first time that VW have put one of their sports models into production in China.
The above Golf GTI’s were spotted out in a car park and posted to the internet. Estimated pricing of 220,000rmb for the GTI have …

The latest generation of VW Polo has been spotted out testing in China, which has resulted in an increase in media chatter regarding its imminent launch in China:
The Polo is expected to launch in April and will come with a 1.2TSI and a 1.4TSI engine according to media reports. The new Polo will be built by the Shanghai VW joint venture which has so far built all of the Polo generation in China.

Its not been a great week for the Japanese automakers, the biggest loser of course being Toyota, but now Suzuki are getting in on the action.
From Peoples Daily

China’s quality watchdog said Friday that Chongqing Chang’an Suzuki Automobile Co., a sino-Japanese joint venture, would recall 10,326 Alto vehicles due to gas filter problems on the Chinese mainland as of Feb. 5.
Oil leaks may occur due to gas filter faults caused by improper manufacturing techniques, and will post potential safety risks, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) …

The US News website has a great interview with Edmund Harriss, a comanager of the Guinness Atkinson China and Hong Kong fund:
To what extent is the Chinese government unwinding its stimulus efforts?
I would put it as sort of adjusting rather than unwinding. I think unwinding is probably a bit strong. They are still proposing to allow new loans of about $7.5 trillion [yuan] to go into the economy [this] year. That is certainly lower than the $9.5 trillion that came in during 2009, but is still very good growth. … …

From Reuters:
SHANGHAI, China — China’s passenger car sales rose 84 per cent in January from a year earlier as buyers took advantage of tax breaks and other incentives ahead of the Chinese New Year, a research group said Friday.
Passenger car sales totalled 1.22 million units for the month, the Shanghai-based China Passenger Car Association reported, citing data from automakers. Sales rose 5 per cent from 1.16 million units in December, it said.
Official data on total vehicle sales for January are due next week.
China’s total vehicle sales soared 45 per cent …