I thought you were overseas Chinese - this is an obvious answer!

China is a big country, like Australia, USA, Canada etc BUT the cities are well connected via cheap air tickets, and a rail network that goes to every backwards little town up and down the country for a few RMB, and if there isnt a train or a plane, you betcha theres a bus or two.

Its much easier and cheaper (600rmb now?) to fly from Shanghai to Beijing than it is to drive, driving would take you at least 12-16 hours and spend around 1200rmb on gas/fees/hotels overnight. Like Europe, car engines are small in China because they are mostly used to ferry people around the city limits and to close by cities. I bet most Chinese cars dont hit 100k km in their lifetimes.

At least, this is the way I see it. Perhaps others have other ideas and Id like to hear them.

Why do Aussies/Yanks/Canucks have big engines why Euros/Asians make do with smaller ones?

the new Lancer is also a 1.6 100bhp.

Ill have to check out the specs again for this sports model, cant be much more different.

‘South East (Fujian) Motor Co., Ltd., commonly known as Soueast or Dongnan in Chinese, is a 1996 50/50 % joint venture between the Fujian Motor Industry Group and the China Motor Corporation (Mitsubishi Motors) of Taiwan. It is located in Fuzhou, Fujian, China. As a automobile manufacturer, its cars derived from older Mitsubishi designs. It began marketing modified versions of the Mitsubishi Lancer and Mitsubishi Space Wagon in May 2006 as a result of an investment from Mitsubishi. These are the first Mitsubishi-branded cars to be assembled and distributed by Soueast.’

I hope this clarifies your concerns. SouEast is not copying, they are Mitsubishi designs licensed to SouEast.
In the Chinese market, which is still largely tariff protected, JV’s (joint ventures) are the best ways for motor companies to build a presence in China instead of paying the hefty tariffs required to import vehicles.
The issue as i understand with the Lioncel is that its body is derived from older versions of the Lancer, though under the hood its is very different to cut costs, eg the MIVEC engine. I suspect that the name was Lioncel because Mitsubishi may have a vested interest in protecting the Lancer brandname due to the mechanical differences with the Lioncel, so as the brand name is protected should Mitsubishi decide to stand on its own feet once the WTO requirements on vehicle tarriffs come into force in, if i remembered correctly, 2008/9.

Naturally, given the price difference, I’m not quite sure the Lancer above is quite the same as the Lancer being replaced this year elsewhere. Any specs? if its less than a 2.0L engine it aint a real Lancer IMO.

Personally, i cant wait to see the Evo X in person at the Sydney motor show coming up. Happy times!