Archive for November, 2010
Riich M1-EV launches, priced high!
The Riich M1-EV was first unveiled at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show and has become a major feature in Chery’s electric vehicle line up, now it has finally made it to production and to sale. Prices are set at 149,900 rmb and rising over five different model specifications: M1-EV 1 – 149,900 M1-EV 2 – [...]
BMW sales boosted by strong Chinese demand
From BBC: BMW’s third quarter profits have risen 11-fold as it continues to benefit from a big increase in sales in China. The German carmaker made a net profit of 874m euros ($1.2bn; £765m) in the three months to the end of September, up from just 78m euros a year earlier. Its revenues rose 36% [...]
Lamborghini selling well in China
From China Daily: China has become the second-biggest market for Automobili Lamborghini Holding SpA due to a sales boom, which saw figures more than double so far this year. The Italian luxury sports car brand plans to increase investment in the market during the next few years to consolidate its success, according to the head [...]
Volvo to gain ground on the ‘German three’ with Chinese design center
The German three, Mercedes, BMW, and Audi have largely controlled the premium market in China, but they are likely to gain a new competitor in the form of Geely owned Volvo. As a Chinese company, Volvo is likely to gain unprecedented access to the government procurement register and will likely unseat Audi as the luxury [...]
GM China sales up 19.6%
As a basic rule of thumb, if GM’s sales are up, then the whole market is likely to be up: General Motors, the biggest overseas automaker in China, said sales increased 19.6 percent in the country in October as it sold more Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac cars. GM and its Chinese joint ventures sold 199,641 [...]
How the Chinese electric car market will develop
An excellent review of the current and future situation by plugincars.com: The specter of Chinese electric cars taking over the world has been raised for the past couple of years. In April 2009, I outlined a couple of reasons why that might not happen so fast. At this very moment, cars (gas or electric) are [...]
Riich M1-EV to launch soon
Chery’s Riich sub brand is on the verge of launching its own pure electric hatchback into the Chinese market place within the next few months. The M1 is Chery’s first mass produced electric vehicle and was on show at last years Shanghai Auto Show for the first time, the Riich M1 EV is well equipped [...]
MG3 to launch with 1.3L and AMT gearbox
The MG6 and MG Zero concept car (aka the MG3) are going to launch in the UK tomorrow at London’s Earl Court, however we can reveal some early details of the MG3. The MG3 is expected to launch in early 2011 according to media reports and will initially come with a 1.3L engine and also [...]
Chinese Billionaires helping out Bentley
From Asia One: British luxury carmaker Bentley Motors Limited expects to double its sales in the Chinese market this year, thanks to the rising appetite for luxury automobiles.”Our annual sales in China this year will be at least double the figure in 2009 and probably hit 1,000, as we see strong growth momentum here,” Zheng [...]
GM and SAIC to set up financing for second hand vehicles
From Corp Finance Week: US automaker General Motors Company (GM) and its Chinese partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) have formed a joint venture (JV) to tap into the used car market in China. The JV will sell used cars of GM brands as well as selected models of other carmakers in the country. GM [...]
Chang’an to launch CX20 MPV soon
Chang’an are readying to launch their CX20 MPV in early 2010 according to media reports, the CX20 is a compact crossover that will be priced from 53,000rmb to 75,000rmb. The CX20 will be powered by a 1.3L engine and will come with choice of an automatic or a 5 speed manual gearbox when its launched [...]
Russia to restore armoured vehicle exports to China
The Russian government is expected to permit the export of armored vehicles to China after ending them several years ago. High level government talks between Russia and China have successfully concluded and will see Russia supply China with Tiger SUV’s that are used by Russian special forces, China already has 50 of them but has [...]
Mercedes A-Class to launch on November 19th
Mercedes are planning to launch the A Class MPV in China on November 19th according to Beijing Daimler-Benz. The A-class is expected to be launched in A160 form that will be priced from 230,000 to 250,000rmb and the A180 will be priced from 270,000rmb to 290,000rmb. For those that wish to pay the entire price [...]
Brilliance planning to raise quality and safety, plans for Europe officially shelved
Brilliance have officially shelved plans to enter the EU market according to Chinese media reports from earlier today. Several years the German motoring outfit ADAC crash tested a Brilliance vehicle, which according to ADAC would have received zero stars if tested by NCAP, subsequently the car was retested by NCAP in Spain, where it gained [...]
New Cherokee spotted out testing, to launch soon
Chrysler seem to be getting their rears in gear with a new product range that is expected to hit Chinese shores in early 2010. Chrysler, via Jeep via AMC were the first foreign car company to enter China with a partnership with Beijing Auto, however the product line up ran stale circa 2008 and became [...]
The Chinese car industry in the 60′s
In our previous article we focused on the 1950′s of Chinese automotive, whilst other countries were quickly building their own national cars such as the original Mini and original Beetle, the Chinese government was focused on getting its people mobile on two wheels and peddle power. The 50′s saw small scale production of vehicles for [...]
BYD G6 spotted out testing
BYD’s G-series of cars is essentially their shot at entering the premium segment and taking their models of cars upmarket, their first mid-size sedan was the F6 but by introducing the G6 they will be able to offer a semi premium model within China. Spy shots of the forthcoming G6 sedan have been leaked to [...]
New Toyota Prius won’t be made in China due to government policies
Earlier this year the Chinese government announced policies which included subsidies for Chinese built hybrids and electric vehicles, but these policies excluded foreign branded vehicles. This policy has led to Toyota canceling its plans to build the latest generation of Prius vehicles in China, and it is unclear if the current Prius will continue to [...]
Honda Crosstour launched, no 2.4 4 cylinder yet
The Honda Crosstour was launched in the Chinese market on Saturday evening in 3.5L V6 form, although Dongfeng-Honda CEO has denied that a four cylinder 2.4L model will be made available in the future. The Chinese built Honda Crosstour is priced from 390,000rmb to 420,800rmb and will be going up against larger SUV’s such as [...]
BaoJun 630 interior spied – looking nice!
As mentioned in countless other articles, the Bao Jun brand is a recent creation that was developed by GM, SAIC and Wuling to take on the lower segments of the market and is expected to be part of GM’s and SAIC’s spearhead into the Indian market in 2011. Exterior pictures of the forthcoming BaoJun 630 [...]
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