Archive for May, 2011
New Ford Focus testing in China has Chinese media going crazy
The Ford Focus is an unofficial standard for middle class life in China, if you can afford a compact car from the Blue Oval, you’re not doing too bad financially. The Focus starts at just over 100,000rmb for the base 1.8 manual transmission and is very popular with new car buyers and second car buyers [...]
More Cars To Get Green Car Subsidy
More than 20 new cars have been awarded a 3000rmb subsidy from the government for being energy efficient motors, the subsidy has been awarded so some 80 cars since its introduction earlier this year. The subsidy is only available to sub 1.6L cars and is a major help to car manufacturers since the preferential tax [...]
MG5 production version spotted out testing
Late last week we got our first look at the production ready MG5 thanks to our friends at Sohu, but we had to wait until this morning before we could share them with the rest of the world, it made for an antagonizing weekend to say the least. The MG5 concept was first shown at [...]
Chery A4 rendered and sighted
When the Chery A3 first came out it left a lot of people impressed, its design and handling showed that Chery had come on a long way since its humble beginnings, of course not all of the design and engineering work was carried out in house as Chery had outsourced the majority to international companies [...]
Ford planning 15 new vehicles for China
By 2015 Ford are planning to have 15 new models on the market in China according to a plan laid bare by Chang’an Ford CEO, Nigel Harris. One of the first major models for Ford China will be the Kuga SUV, a compact SUV that has become a best selling model in the European markets [...]
Saab-Hawtai Divorce – all rumor, no fact
Saab’s shotgun marriage to Hawtai last week caused more than a few surprises in the auto industry, but their less than amicable divorce 9 days later caused an even bigger ruckus, but two days on and it appears that the dust has yet to settle. The facts behind the divorce are not entirely clear yet, [...]
Chery’s X rated plans for the Riich brand
AshAsh came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world’s biggest and [...]
Chinese Brands Hurt The Most By Market Slow Down
Geely posted on May 11 that its April auto sales reached 34,902 units, up 7.6% from a year earlier and down 13% from a month earlier. Its auto sales in the first four months increased 12.8% from a year earlier to 152,600 units, fulfilling 31.8% of its full-year sales target. The April auto sales of [...]
BYD releases EV taxi testing results
From Hybrid Miles: Chinese automaker BYD Auto initiated a fleet-scale test of plug-in vehicles in April 2010. This testing process included 50 BYD e6 taxis in Shenzhen as well as a handful of F3DMs used by the Housing Authority of Los Angeles. Representatives from BYD Auto announced initial test results from these plug-in fleets a [...]
Ford Recalling 6599 Mondeo’s in China
Ford China are working with China’s quality control departments to recall 6,599 Ford Mondeos due to defective power cables in the air conditioning system that can lead to a short circuit. The affected Mondeors were produced between February 14 and April 16th 2011, the defective cables have been found to heat up to the point [...]
GM releases Chevrolet Aveo Sedan Official Pictures
Partnering with the blockbuster Transformer movie series is one of the best pieces of promotional activity that GM has ever carried out for its Chinese consumer base, Transformers was one of the first Western cartoons to be permitted to hit Chinese televisions in the 80′s and became a childhood classic for Chinese kids as it [...]
Breaking: Hawtai-Saab deal is off
The much coveted Hawtai-Saab deal which would have seen Hawtai rescue Saab has been terminated, barely a week after the deal was signed – as predicted by China Car Times. According to various sources it appears that Hawtai were unable to satisfy Sypkers investors, Hawtai and Saab are reportedly still in talks but it appears [...]
Buick GL8 Long Term Test Update
Having already racked up 7500 kms in this vast silver green machine, China Car Times now feels we’ve got a good grasp of what Buick have been able to achieve with their first ever fully China designed model. If you read our initial impressions, we revealed a marine like, luxury ride, devoid of any handling [...]
Kaili is unlikely to be just an EV brand, it has to be more
FAW-Volkswagen is upping the ante on electric vehicles. According to the production catalog released by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the new electric car FV7002 will use a new brand – Kaili, which has been big news in both China and Europe. Further details have yet to be disclosed, but many believe Kaili [...]
FAW to produce plugin electric Besturn and Xenia MPV in July
FAW are gearing up for the future by producing a series of plugin electric vehicles, the first model will be a plugin hybrid Besturn B70 sedan whilst the second one will be the Xenia MPV which will be available as a pure electric model. According to Chinese media reports the Besturn B70 and B50 plugin [...]
Saab 9-5 confirmed for China
Saab is coming back to China almost six months after GM closed the dealership network that was largely focused on the Shanghai and Beijing areas, as expected Saab’s are quite a common sight on Shanghai’s roads. With Saab’s debts quickly mounting in Europe and the USA, it seems that the best way to make money [...]
SouEast-Mitsubishi joint venture gets another shot at life
Mitsubishi’s fortunes in China are about to change yet again, the joint venture appeared to have become stale over time with Mitsubishi becoming less interested in the partnership and more interested in working with Guangzhou Auto, now it appears that Mitsubishi are back on with SouEast. The SouEast-Mitsubishi joint venture seemed to have been originally [...]
Buick Regal GS to go on sale soon
The Buick Regal 2.0T set a new precedent for sedan power in China when it launched over 18 months ago, the 2.0T engine was one of the most powerful on the market producing 220bhp. Ford later launched the Mondeo with 240bhp but it appears that Buick are about to retake their crown with the Regal [...]
Hawtai going to the USA? Probably, but not so fast.
Saab’s CEO, Victor Muller is quite happy with his new found Chinese friends at Hawtai who have bailed out Saab to the tune of 150 million Euros and now he is putting forth the possibility that Hawtai could make the jump to the USA in the near future. Of course we have been closely following [...]
Toyota China to return to full scale production in June
Toyota China was badly affected by the Japanese earthquake last month, on in mid April the outlook for Toyota’s Chinese factories not looking good with production of parts not expected to start until August, and then being unable to reach full production capabilities until November or December at the latest, thankfully Toyota have re-evaluated the [...]
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