Archive for December, 2009
Chinese government to buy more Chinese cars in 14.7billion USD splurge in 2010
We all need to become civil servants! From Xinhua: BEIJING, Dec. 31 — Chinese authorities are mulling new regulations to increase the ratio of domestic brands cars to more than 50 percent in government procurement of official cars. The annual car-purchasing bill of the Chinese government is expected to top 100 billion yuan (14.7 billion U.S. [...]
Geely gets Chinese central government support
The Geely take over of Volvo has been nothing but rumor since early 2009, but now it looks like the plan is finally coming to fruitation with the prospect of Chinese built Volvo’s not being far behind: From Reuters: HONG KONG, Dec 31 (Reuters) – Geely, China’s No.1 private carmaker, said on Thursday that its [...]
Hybrid Roewe 750 to launch in May 2010
SAIC wheeled out their Roewe 750 hybrid sedan way back in November 2006, and until then we have not seen hide nor hair of the good looking gentlemen’s hybrid since then. Now it appears that SAIC are getting closer to putting a hybrid heart into the 750, and it will see production early next year [...]
China to relax rules on disabled drivers
More disabled drivers will be able to take to the roads in the next few years as China relaxes the laws on disabled motorists according to Xinhua: China’s Ministry of Public Security recently issued an amendment to driving license rules, giving more disabled people the rights to sit behind the wheel. Those with disabled right [...]
SAIC spends 500 million USD for GM India operations
According to this site, SAIC are going to invest 500 million USD into a new joint venture with GM which will see them take on the Indian market in a similar manner to the Chinese market. Detroit-based General Motors, which entered into a 50:50 joint venture with China’s Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation Group (SAIC) earlier [...]
Chang’an MPV spotted testing
Chang’an have an impressive self designed line up, in fact, the majority of their sales do appear to come from their own developed vehicles whilst their JV sales with Mazda and Ford only account for a small amount of their total sales. The latest vehicle from Chang’an appears to be a compact MPV that follows [...]
BMW 3 Series going out of production, imports to pick up the slack
Fan of BMW will be happy to learn that BMW-Brilliance are suspending production of the 3-series in China whilst they expand their production lines in China, however, BMW plan to import the three series and sell it at the same price as the locally built three series. BMW-Brilliance have started work on their plans to [...]
Chery’s M14 spotted out again – looking better than ever
Chery’s M14 has been reportedly coming out for quite some time but it has yet to make it to production. Chery appears to be getting closer to a final production car with a lot of engine and suspension set up from Lotus, and a lot of testing in both the UK and in China. Chinese [...]
Car Pooling becoming popular in China?
Well, at least the Western parts: From the China Daily: URUMQI, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) — More people preferred to carpool amid cold weather and continuous snow in Urumqi, capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Li Mei, an office worker who lives 10 kilometers from her office, joined a carpooling group she found on [...]
Geely to keep Volvo as a stand alone business
As CCT has been predicting all along, Geely is planning to keep Volvo as an independent business which they will fill with cash to keep it going, although it is likely that Geely will be sending its engineers over to Sweden for an intensive study course in car engineering: From Reuters: China’s Geely would barely [...]
Geely given green light to buy Volvo
Ford have finally given Geely the green light to buy Volvo, basically telling us everything we knew months ago: Reuters: U.S. Ford Motor said in a statement on Wednesday it had agreed all substantial commercial terms in a deal to sell its Volvo Car Corporation unit to China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, parent of Geely [...]
Ford sold over 42,260 Fiesta’s from March to November
The Fiesta is an excellent motor, and that is reflected by its fantastic sales. In November alone Ford sold over 5000 Fiesta’s, making it the best month to date for the little motor that appears to have captured a certain market niche in a segment that is awash with cheap cars that cost as little [...]
Chery Riich G5 launched!
Chery’s Riich G5 is the top of the line flagship model from Chery, and is Chery’s attempt at taking the fight to the Japanese controlled mid size sedan segment. The first model to come down the line is carrying Chery’s home built 2.0T engine. The G5 measures an impressive (LxWxH) 4717/1794/1473 and has a wheel [...]
MG6 launched, priced from 120,000 to 190,000rmb
The MG6 hatchback was launched yesterday with much fanfare on the internet, pricing was released as follows: 1.8L Standard 120,888 1.8L Elite 149,800 1.8T Standard 146,680 1.8T Elite 166,800 1.8T Luxury 192,800 Official Pictures: The MG6 measures 4653*1827*1478 (LxWxH), the top speed of the 1.8L model is 188kph, whilst the 1.8T model will power drivers [...]
Chery Riich G6 Spotted out testing
The Chery Riich G6 is one of Chery’s finer achievements to date, we first saw it at the Shanghai Auto Show where it wowed crowds. The Riich G6 will be Chery’s flagship model, and will carry the self designed 2.0 Turbo assisted engine that has been much touted by Chery and the automotive media. Judging [...]
Seat to enter South Chinese markets
VW’s sub brand, Seat, is set to enter the southern Chinese market in a bid to gain a larger market share. At the recent Guangzhou Auto Show, VW revealed its ‘Southern Stratergy’ to gain more market share and introduce more models into the area where it has been a little weak. The Skoda Superb was [...]
Speed freaks rejoice! Skoda Octavia RS to launch next year
Skoda has made some strong inroads into the Chinese market place since its introduction several years ago, now it is set to enter a niche segment that is largely ignored by many; the hot hatch segment. Skoda are planning to launch either a 1.8T or a 2.0T Octavia RS into the mainland, which should hopefully [...]
Geely to try their hand at the semi premium market with new EC825
Geely doesn’t seem to understand that a name like EC825 is rather hard to remember, but then again any name they think up is likely to be rather ridiculous anyway, so perhaps it is best they stick to serial numbers. The EC825 is preparing to strike against the B-segment in which it will take on [...]
Hyundai and Baotou Bei Ben to make truck JV
Hyundai have been making massive inroads into the Chinese market in the past 12 months, they’ve revamped their car line up from being rather stale and dry to becoming one of the most sought after brands in China. It seems that they are having similar plans for the trucking industry with the start of a [...]
MG ZP11 to launch next year, Roewe limo apparently dropped
With the Roewe 350 about to launch on the tails of the MG6 (which coincidently launches tomorrow), MG will get its own version of the Roewe 350 which has been codenamed MG ZP11 and is likely to be the MG5, or even 3. 2010 is set to be a big year for MG and Roewe [...]
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