Wowsers! Huatai B11 on display at long last!

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Huatai invited a select group of people to come and look at its stunning B11 sedan over the weekend, despite the number ‘Do not take photos’ signs, many people still took photos which eventually made their way to the internet:

Early on when spy shots of this car were released to the internet it was mocked, both on CCT and elsewhere, for being a Bentley clone. Clearly it is not, it is something that is quite different in its styling to a Bentley. Furthermore, it looks great for a first try at producing a sedan and has some interesting engines under the hood.

Huatai are aiming to enter the premium auto segment, a market that has been largely overlooked by Chinese manufacturers that are on a continual race to the bottom of the price barrel with ever cheaper models, Huatai on the other hand have seen a niche market that has not yet been entered into by the majority of Chinese car manufacturers, and that is the semi premium segment. So far only Chery and Brilliance have had the testicular fortitude required to take on the JV car makers with Chinese premium cars. The interior and the exterior are both looking excellent, and could take on mid level JV cars such as the last generation Mazda6 with relative ease.

Under the hood, diesel engines appear to rule the roost with Huatai building 2.0T and 1.5T diesel engines for the B11, which will be mated to 5 speed manual and 4 speed automatic gearboxes. The introduction of diesel engines may indicate that Huatai plan to take this car to Europe where the love of the black stuff runs high.

The B11 is expected to be built in Inner Mongolia at their new factory in Ordos and should be on the market in June, although this date is likely to be pushed back.