Archive for October, 2009
Call me Magotan CC – Passat CC to see Chinese production
Volkswagen’s Chinese line up is certainly a strange one, with varying generations of cars sold side by side yet they still manage to sell well despite the overlap. Whilst the Passat B5 (and 5.5) may have died in overseas markets by 2005, sales continued in China with various facial updates for several years, which have [...]
Audi A3 to be made in China
The Audi A3 is a close competitor to the BMW 1 series in overseas markets, but with the 1 Series on the verge of launching in China, Audi has yet again put the issue of building the A3 in China back out. The launch of MINI China saw that there was a small but lucrative [...]
BMW 1 series to be made in China?
According to reports on the Chinese automotive website, the BMW 1 series could be made in China within the next few years with BMW China’s JV partner, Brilliance. The report states that the BMW 1-series could go into production as early as next year, cutting out the need to import the vehicle into the PRC. [...]
Audi and Mercedes find a sweet spot in China
Audi good sales news: Audi’s sales in China rose 37% in September from a year earlier to more than 15,000 vehicles, a monthly record, according to the Ingolstadt, Germany-based auto maker. In the January-to-September period, Audi’s China sales totaled 108,859 vehicles, up 20% from a year earlier. Audi ranks third behind BMW and Mercedes-Benz in [...]
Indian Media: Chinese military out classing India’s
Complete with comedy racist headline from the Times of India: Admiral Sureesh Mehta isn’t one to mince words. But for his verbal volleys at the media following the 26/11 Mumbai attacks which landed him in avoidable controversy, Mehta, who till a month ago was chairman of the chiefs of staff committee, would have been remembered [...]
MG UK sales a bit poor
MG UK, the European branch of SAIC’s MG brand are having a rough time of it lately with sales barely moving, the factory shutting down, and the manager leaving Sales are down to 61 cars in September: MG UK sold 61 cars last month, figures show. The Longbridge firm has declined to confirm that 20 [...]
JAC AO mini car to launch at years end
JAC are steaming ahead with their small car launches recently, and plan to take on the Geely Eagle, BYD F0, Chery QQ, and Brilliance FRV with the launch of their own super cheap super nice mini car: The JAC AO is expected to be powered by a 1.0 and 1.1 engine producing around 72BHP and [...]
Geely Emgrand EC718 launches
As with Chery, Geely plan on marching into the premium segment with their own offerings from their own sub brands. Geelys effort is the Emgrand EC718 with a 1.8L engine, quite a step down from the Riich G5′s 2.0T effort. Pricing of the Emgrand EC718 is expected to be considerably lower than the Riich G5, [...]
Buick Park Avenue face lift spotted in China
The Chinese version of the Buick Park Avenue is quite a handsome vehicle, and has just recieved more handsome thanks to a small facial upgrade. The Park Avenue is based off the Australian designed and built Holden Statesman and is actually a CKD model from Australia with the Buick badging bolted on afterwards. The Park [...]
Nissan Micra/March to launch next year – maybe
Rumours of the Nissan Micra/March going into production in China have been on going for some years, with it being reported on China Car Times several times to date. Chinese automotive outlets are reporting that the Nissan Micra will be launched in the middle of 2010 and will be priced at a competitive 70,000rmb. It’s [...]
Riich G5 to launch in November
The Chery sub brand, Riich, is set to launch its first mid size sedan in November this year. The Riich G5 is Chery’s first entry into the premium segment with their own self developed sedan, however, the Riich G5 will be launching first of all with a 5 speed manual gearbox which might not help [...]
Chery driving out Anhui province with new factory in Dalian
The Chinese upstart automaker, Chery, is planning to build its first factory outside of Anhui province in Dalian, Liaoning Province. The factory is the product of a 4.7 billion RMB investment in the Dalian special trade zone and is also built on reclaimed land. Dalian City recently listed the automobile industry as a pillar of [...]
Chairman Hu’s Red Flag Limo
There was a lot of speculation as to what car Chairman Hu Jintao would drive out in during the October 1st National Day Parade in Beijing. It was largely believed that the Chairman would be using the Hong Qi concept car from 2006 with a FAW designed V12 engine block under the hood, but it [...]
Korean Media: “World Car Industry Depends on China”
A recent article in South Korea’s Joong Ang Daily remarked that the worlds car industry now depends upon the Chinese market until other markets improve. Partial translation: By September 30th 2009, China had sold over six million cars, an increase of 17.7% over the first nine months of 2008, America has only sold 4.8 million [...]
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