Lifan first SUV to be made in China by years end

The first Lifan developed SUV is expected to be produced in China before the end of the year at a Lifan factory in Inner Mongolia. The Lifan SUV is expected to c ost between 50,000 and 100,000rmb. An addition of a 1.8L engine is expected to follow the 1.6L Tritec engine. AshAsh came to China [...]

Chinese brands suffering in Russia

The Russian market has always been used as a ‘stepping stone’ to Europe by the Chinese manufacturers, but it seems the recent downturn in the economy has put a dampner on Chinese expansion plans in Russia. In February, sales of Chinese automobiles in Russia were as follows: Chery – 363 vehicles sold (Feb 08 1,733 [...]

Panther Automobile Spotted!

You may, or may not know who Panther are, but we found a good description here: Panther Westwinds, usually referred to as Panther, was a British specialty automobile manufacturer. The company was founded in 1972 by Robert Jankel and based in Surrey, UK. Panther Westwinds became famous for their retro-styled cars based on production mechanicals. [...]

Europestar domestically produced RCR seen in China

Europestar, China’s latest brand to hit the streets have had their domestically made Proton Gen2 RCR spotted out in China. The Chinese made RCR looks identical to the Malaysian made model, except for its updated nose. The Chinese built model is expected to see a drop in price over the coming months. Previously the RCR [...]

According to Jinghua news, Henan Province and the Aviation Corporation Industry of China (ACIC) signed an agreement to produce electric cars in Henan province. The agreement is being billed as a strategic agreement to bolster Henan as a producer of tomorrows technology, and also to bolster ACIC’s product range, which is currently aviation vehicles such [...]

Peugeot Hoggar – Made in China, but do Peugeot know?

The Peugeot Hoggar was a pretty cool concept when it was first released by Peugeot, but sadly like all really cool concept cars it was just a proof of concept, a way to show that Peugeot still had the will to design cool new cars. The Hoggar was never to be, that is until a [...]

Chang’an Truck – GR8 4 Driftin’

This video has been doing the rounds on various Chinese car forums for some while, but China Smack has now picked up on the story and has kindly uploaded the video to the mighty Youtube: The video, in case you dont want to watch, details a young mans obsession with drifting, but obviously not having [...]

Chery Faira NN – Internal Crash Testing underway

The Chery Faira NN was first seen at the Shanghai Auto Show last year, and is planned to be Chery’s mid range of small car, somewhere between the tiny QQ range, but still smaller than the A-Series, but then possibly smaller than the Cloudwind series. Dont quite follow? Well neither do we. Although the above [...]

Roewe 850 – The domestic Bentley, aka Roewe R85

Further details on the Roewe 850 have emerged, including pictures which solidify the rumors that the 850 is essentially a reworked Ssangyong Chairman: The front and rear end of the ‘Roewe 85′ have been ‘Roewe-ized’ to bring into the Roewe design fold. Ssangyong Chairmans are usually used as limos in China complete with a driver, [...]

Chery Cloudwind Sedan – adopts BMW 1 Series rear end

We’re not so sure whats happening at Chery these days, it seems the engineers are really running the show and plan on flooding the market with a series of compact hatchbacks and sedans which compete against each other in the marketplace. The Chery Cowin hatch is the latest car to be spotted from Chery, and [...]

Lifan SUV spotted out

Lifan have had plans to make their own SUV for over a year, plans for the future SUV were leaked onto the internet alongside a whole lot of other future cars in early 2008. The new Lifan SUV has already been spotted out testing, and according to media reports it will carry the 1.6 Tritec [...]

Great Wall to strike the crossover segment with real 4WD crossover

They’ve called it the Great Wall Mini, we’re not sure if BMW’s MINI will be angered by this move, but we at CCT love the soon to launch GWM Mini. The plastic clad car will be powered by a 1.3l engine, and unlike many crossovers will have the option of being AWD. The GWM Mini [...]

JAC Eagle SUV – 2.0l Intercooled Turbo.

JAC bought the rights to the previous generation Hyundai Sante Fe and made the SUV under their own brand. They only purchased the platform, and the body, engines didnt seem to be part of the deal, but this hasnt held JAC back, as they’ve dropped their own 2.0L Intercooled Turbo unit into an updated Eagle. [...]

Zotye EV doing the rounds

A Zotye EV small SUV has been spotted doing the rounds in Hangzhou. Stats on the EV are currently unavailable, but it looks like its being used by Hangzhou police as its in their car park, and police officers are giving it the once over. Batteries look to be in the truck, and the ‘gas [...]

Geely aiming towards new energy cars in ’09

The China Daily reports that Geely are planning on producing new energy cars in 2009, which appears to be their major overseas growth plan. Low sales in overseas markets could be due to the rather poor range that Geely currently offers, but thats set to change dramatically from 2009 onwards. Geely Auto, one of China’s [...]

Ford Expecting China Growth Soon

From the Shanghai Daily: BEIJING, March 9 –  Ford Motor Co expects sales in its Chinese venture to grow at least 10 percent this year after the government stimulus plan in the automotive industry begins to take effect, a company executive said yesterday. Ford expected its three-party venture – Chang’an Ford Mazda Automobile Co Ltd – to have [...]

Brilliance FRV Crossover – Excellence gets better

The FRV has been another major hit for Brilliance, they keep managing to produce excellent cars at excellent prices. The FRV Crossover is expected to be a major continuation of the path that they have taken so far: The FRV Crossover will most probably launch at the Shanghai Auto Show, and will be paired to [...]

Harley Davidson gets Hog sales rolling in China

Its an odd concept for most Chinese people, why do people want to buy a motorbike, especially an American made motorbike that costs many times more than a Chinese made motorcycle. China is a nation that’s just getting into their automobile, so why do people want to return to the motorbike? Well the simple answer [...]

New Ford Fiesta launches in China – Heats up A Class Segment!

The Chinese A-Class segment consisting of super minis is a super tough market for any manufacturer to enter, but Ford seem content on entering the segment, and giving it a good shake up with their funky new Fiesta . The segment in question is a fierce one with prices ranging from as low as 30,000rmb [...]

New Proton MPV spotted testing in China

The latest Proton MPV, the Proton Exora MPV, has been spotted out testing on Chinese roads, which could signal an immediate launch in China for the MPV. According to reports, the MPV was spotted testing in ‘Northern China’, which probably means around the Jinan area where Youngman is based. Information on the Exora is available [...]