Archive for March, 2009
Renault Koleos entering China
The Renault Kaleos is Renaults version of the Nissan Qahsqai, a small city SUV built in partnership, riding on the same platform, sporting the same engines and gearboxes but different bodies. The Koleos will be Renaults first entry into the Chinese SUV market, and will give their small China ranage a welcome addition. Currently all [...]
Great Wall continuing electric car development
Great Wall, arguably the Chinese domestic leader in SUV and truck production, is turning its hand towards a greener range of vehicles. The above two seater car is expected to be the perfect city car when it launches, top speed is limited to 65kph (in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, its impossible to hit 65kph [...]
The Friday Question: A compact sedan for my wife!
Good day all – My wife wants a new compact sedan, it must be a compact sedan, no hatches, no compact MPV’s, it must be a sedan. We’ve drawn up a list which we’ll take a look at tomorrow: Honda Civic – 1.8l Nissan Sylphy Ford Focus 2.0 Roewe 550 1.8T (or MG6 should it [...]
Who is bidding for SAAB this week?
Reuters let slip a little info today: General Motors’ Saab brand has received interest from several potential bidders including China’s Geely Automobile and Dongfeng Motor Group, sources with direct knowledge of the sales process said. But a senior Geely executive said the company is not interested in foreign brands. So are Geely after Volvo, or [...]
Nissan NV200 to be made in China
Many press outlets are stating that the NV200 is set to be made in China in over the coming months. The NV200 was unveiled this week at the Geneva auto show, with Nissan boss Andy Palmer saying that he expects the NV200 to be a success in China. Currently Zhengzhou Nissan do sell the YumSum [...]
Besturn B50 – launches year end
The first Besturn B50 came off the production line the other day to the delight of FAW fans across China. The B50 is FAW’s second car under the Besturn brand, and it carries on the Besturn tradition of riding on Mazda technology. According to Chinese media reports, the newer B50 also sits on the Mazda6 [...]
Geely CE: to hit market in 2010
Geelys first proper looking hatchback (the Geely Marie, aka an old Daihatsu Charade) is set to go on sale in 2010 according to todays media reports. The Geely CE is a Suzuki Swift sized super mini, and was first shown at the 2008 Beijing Auto Show where it wowed crowds, alongside 23 other Geely concept [...]
New Hyundai Genesis Launched in China
Hyundai launched their new coupe in China earlier today, except it has dropped the Genesis branding and opted for the Rohens Coupe moniker. The Genesis name was dropped for China, and replaced with the Rohens name, the sedan went on the market in August 2008 priced from 390,000rmb to slightly over 500,000rmb. The Rohens Coupe [...]
Landrover sales up 70% in ’08
Although sales of cars across the range are down both in China and internationally, there is one company that appears to be bucking the trend in a major way, and thats Landrover. Landrover maybe an odd survivor of the current economic crisis, with their cars being made in the UK, not a cheap place to [...]
How to make the women love you!
Its quite an easy process: 1) Buy a Santana – despite it going out of production every where else in the world in a decade before you were born, you can still buy a good 90′s one in China. The below is a ’95 model. 2) Paint it metallic blue 3) Add some racey bits [...]
January 2009 China Car Sales
January 2009 China Car Sales The world economy exploded in January 2009 and with Jing Ji Wei Ji (Economic Crisis) on the lips of many a Chinese person, how did car sales in the PRC do? The answer is quite easy – good. Although sales of luxury cars dived, they still remained buoyant when compared [...]
Haima to build Mazda2, but its not a Mazda2
Haima and Mazda previously had a JV together, but FAW waded in and purchased Haima, thus making the JV into a FAW-Mazda JV. However, there still seems to be a connection between Mazda and Haima, as the two still seem to share platforms, and possibly designs. The Haima3 looks rather like the Mazda3 (in sedan [...]
Great Wall Coolbear, totally cool.
Great Wall may have come under a lot of attacks lately for its amazing ability to clone cars, but lets face it – the Coolbear is sporting the design the Scion Xb should have been. For more pictures, click continue reading… AshAsh came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 [...]
Whats worth seeing at the upcoming Shanghai Show
The Shanghai Auto Show is practically upon us, but whats worth seeing in these economically tight times? Will the manufacturers give us some interesting models to look at, or will they try to save their cash on models, or do away with eye candy altogether? VW Passat Lingyu We’re not quite sure how far VW [...]
The Chinese Drifters
Drifting, or Piao Yi (Floating Movement?) has become very popular in China in recent years. Movies such as Fast and Furious and the Initial D movie staring Chinese favorite Jay Zhou have only fueled the Piao Yi scene. Since these movies came out, young Chinese guys have been drifting anything they can, we’ve even seen [...]
Brilliance to change logo (again)
More pictures of an updated, albeit slightly squashed Brilliance logo have been leaked to the internet again. The grainy shots show a logo that was first aired in mid 2007, could Brilliance be serious about changing its already perfectly fine logo to something that resembles a squashed egg? The above logo is allegedly fitted to [...]
Chinese Farmers Keeping Car Sales Rolling
So says Xinhua: JILIN CITY, Jilin, March 2 (Xinhua) — As China rolls out its 5-billion-yuan (730 million U.S. Dollars) stimulus for carmakers, one city is pioneering its own package to lure rural buyers – and farmers are coming out strong. LIFELINE TO CARMAKER The pioneer is Jilin City, in the northeastern Jilin Province, where [...]
Roewe 550 Electric Sedan?!
Last week China Car Times was sent these interesting photos of a Roewe 550 testing in Australia, Alice Springs to be exact. Now you maybe wondering why the Roewe 550 would still be under testing, seeing as it’s already on sale in China. We shared the photos with MGUK.org to find out what they think. [...]
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