Lifan told us today that they will have a CNG powered Lifan 520 sedan in full production by June 2008!
The range CNG powered cars in China is small, but evidently growing. The price of gas will soon rise again by 10% (around March 08) which will hit Chinese motorists hard. The price of gas at the pump has already increased this year from 4.79 to 5.22rmb, add on that extra 10% and you will see a whole lot more people using public transport.
Some manufacturers, such as Lifan, are pushing their way into the CNG market - one litre of CNG is around 3.5rmb which makes buying, or converting your car into CNG worthwhile.
Lifans 520 offering will see a 65L tank stored in the trunk of the tiny yet large sedan, but potential buyers need not worry, there still is plenty of trunk space available. When running on CNG, the Lifan 520 will use 6.22 litres of CNG per 100km of driving.
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Lifan could be making a move at the taxi fleets with these.
Ash, do you know if these are CNG dedicated or have a switch in them to change back to petrol when needed?
What next , Lifan ?
Lifan seem to be pushing themselves really hard in the automotive sector - its obvious that they are taking their motorcycle manufacturing skills and putting them into their car making arena.
And im not just saying that because they pay the bills
Lifan is one to watch, as are BYD, and Dandong Shuguang - their SUV and pick up range is top notch.
BYD ? Thanks, joke of the day.
Whoa there…….not SOOOO fast. Granted - BYD’s cars so far DO show a “significant influence” from other car companies….and that DOES need to change. However, BYD has shown that it can build a good car and even a popular one (the F3 has been in the top 10 sales list a couple of times). Furthermore, show me another car company in China right now that is developing 100% ELECTRIC cars as agressively as BYD is!! The F6e is planned for next year, thev’re already developed the F3e and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a F1e in the near future as well. I thought that Geely would be the company to watch a couple of years ago, but I’m in agreement with Ashley - BYD IS a company to keep your eye on. Their commitment to electric and hybrid cars is impressive, and it COULD be the ticket for their success as China’s citizens become fully aware of global warming and the need to curtail gas consumption.
Just let them work on some R&D first.
Their engines are Mitsubishi stock, their designs are are ermmmmm ‘inspired’ by just about every toyota produced in the last 5 years.
They make cheap workhorses, thats for sure. Ive even seen a few BYD’s in Taxi use.
My guess is Lifan can see that selling motorbikes has a limited lifespan in Chinese cities now that most of the major cities have banned them from the city centres.
They do have good quality records and are an established name in many countries that will help them a lot. Their designs don’t seem to bad either.
I wonder what Dog tuckers comment is on this??
Lifan has pretty much taken over most of South East Asia with their motorbike production, even pushing certain domestic makers in Vietnam to the sidelines.
I think in most Chinese cities, i.e. 3rd/4th tier and their surrounding areas there (no public transport areas) still is motorbike growth to be had, but a whole host of companies make the classic 125 motorbike in China now, Lifan, Qingqi, Geely etc etc.
Although to be fair, I think in their respective regions, Lifan (Si Chuan/Tibet) Qingqi (Shandong/surrounding western northern provinces) Geely (Zhejiang/Pearl Delta) these brands can knock out quite a few bikes, and be strong in those areas.
Lifan are selling their bikes in the USA, as are Geely, but I am not aware of to what extent Geely is selling.
Geely sells bikes ? Whoa I never know this. Geely bikes, now that sounds funny. Lifan bikes are the only ones I trust cos they know what they are doing.
There were so much hypes about Geely last year and now we have heard of nothing about Geely except for some Mercedes lookalikes. Great !
And yes Lifan is expanding fast in Southeast Asia in motorbikes sector but there is a single obstacle that they need to hurdle in order to form a monopoly and it is Honda. And in fact Honda is like a family name in some southeast Asian countries like Vietnam.