Archive for August, 2011
Hawtai B21 gets sent to the patent office
Hawtai’s B21 sports sedan came to the Shanghai Auto Show in sports form and caused a few heads to be turned when the model was unveiled, it was widely thought that the model was a concept only to gain press headlines, but it looks like Hawtai are putting the car into production ASAP: Pictures of [...]
Youngman and Pangda will submit Saab stake acquisition plan to NDRC within three weeks
If Saab can’t find an investor to pay its employees in two weeks, it will be forced to start liquidation process. Then its deals with Pangda and Youngman will become invalid completely, but due to restrictive policies by the Chinese government, the two Chinese companies are not allowed to make more investment to save Saab [...]
JAC announces new factory for Brazil
Chinese manufacturers are seeing major growth in the Brazilian car market after their recent entry into the South American country, Chery were the first Chinese car company to make a landing in Brazil but JAC have aggressively followed suit and have grand plans for the market. Earlier this week JAC’s Vice President was in Sao [...]
The Greatest Small Car GM ever made – 2012 Chevrolet Aveo (Sonic) in review
Are you a young car buyer? Do you want a funky looking car with plenty of personality? Did you just get your license? Do you want to lose your license in record time? If you said yes to the above, what you need is the new 2012 Chevrolet Aveo. The original Aveo was not a [...]
Chang’an preparing high end mini van
In the business mini van market the Buick GL8 remains king of its domain, so why bother challenging it? JAC seem to have a hard iron grip on things in the middle of the market and everyone else is just playing catch up, Chang’an seem to see a serious chance at biting away some of [...]
Changhe Suzuki working on new SUV, the WagonR by another name
The WagonR has had a sad life in China, whilst other markets moved onto the much more handsome generation the WagonR struggled on in first generation form with Changhe-Suzuki giving it a sad mid life make over which really didn’t do it too many favors. However, for some reason rural consumers seem to enjoy the [...]
Guangzhou releases plans to improve traffic conditions in downtown area
The news office of Guangzhou municipal government released Guangzhou City’s Measures to Improve Traffic Conditions in Downtown Area on August 1st. The traffic control plan is aimed to increase the proportion of public transportation to overall motorized transportation to 65%, and ensure the vehicle speed on main roads in downtown area to be no less [...]
Polo GTI and Fabia VRS spotted in China together
The Polo GTI and Fabia VRS have long been rumored to be entering the Chinese market, the two hot hatches have finally been spotted out testing in China – oddly together, for the first time. The GTI has been seen before, but the VRS is the first time that this model has been sighted and [...]
Beijing boosts auto trade-ins with incentive plans
According to Beijing city’s new plan for boosting the trade-ins of motor vehicles, the Beijing citizens will be able to get a government subsidy ranging from 2,500 yuan to 14,500 yuan if they trade in their old motor vehicles under State I and State II emission standards from August 1st, 2011 to December 31st, 2012. [...]
Survey shows marketization of new energy vehicles is far lower than expectation
Despite a the large subsidies available to electric car buyers, the marketization of new energy vehicles is still far lower than expectated. By June 30, only 10 all-electric vehicles had been sold in Shanghai this year, and the number for Hangzhou was only 25. It seems the problems like high prices despite subsidies, inconvenience, and [...]
Chinese workers settle parking dispute with dynamite – 4 killed, 16 injured
From China Daily: Four people were killed and 16 others injured during a fight between two groups of workers after one faction detonated explosives in northwestern Gansu Province on Friday. The blast occurred at around 2:30 pm near a railway tunnel at a construction site in the Wudu District of the city of Longnan. Workers [...]
China drives up BMW’s Q2 profits
From Reuters: BMW (BMWG.DE) tore through market expectations for second-quarter profits as more wealthy Chinese drove away with its revamped 5 Series saloon car. The company reported an 83 percent jump in quarterly operating profit at its luxury car business, underpinned by surging sales of the 5 series and a 4.8 percentage point widening in [...]
Can Roewe E1 hit the market in 2012?
Roewe E1, a small pure electric car from Shanghai Automotive (SAIC), will hit Chinese market late next year without any extensive demonstration. When China Car Times colleagues tested the new MG3 last week, it is confirmed by a staff of SAIC corporate communications dept. The E1 Concept was unveiled at Beijing Auto Show in April [...]
Chery’s Riich brand hitting the rough tracks in path to developing higher end brand
Riich dealerships in Beijing are closing down and withdrawing from the market, which leads to reflections over the situation of China’s high-end homegrown brands. Some people think it’s not the right time for homegrown automakers to launch high-end brands. It’s true that the homegrown brands are not so successful in their expansion to the high-end [...]
Riich G6 launched in China, priced high
Today is the birthday of The People’s Liberation Army, the military force was founded on August 1st 1927 and its on the PLA’s birthday that Chery decided to launched the new Riich G6. The Riich G6 will be aimed squarely at business users and government fleet procurements, hence the August 1st launch. The G6 comes [...]
Cadillac SRX to be made in China
The Cadillac SRX has proven to be a popular model in the Chinese market, so much so that Shanghai GM are readying the model for production in China. Currently the car is imported from the USA which makes it price much higher than it should be due to higher taxes on imported high displacement vehicles. [...]
Greatwall plans A Share IPO
From Market Watch: Great Wall Motor Co. (2333.HK) plans to sell up to 304 million A shares ahead of a listing in mainland China, the Chinese car maker said Friday, which would enable it to boost production capacity to meet the country’s growing domestic demand for automobiles. The Hong Kong-listed company said in a statement [...]
Luxgen production revs up at Dongfeng Yulong
From the China Daily: Its Luxgen 7 mid-sized sport utility vehicle is now offered for presale at prices ranging from 190,000 to 270,000 yuan. The model will formally hit the market in two months, the company said. Hubei-based Dongfeng Motor Corp and Taiwan’s largest carmaker Yulon Motor Co formed the partnership in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province [...]
Seat Ibiza spotted road testing in China, readying for launch
The Seat brand was launched in China at the Shanghai Auto Show in April earlier this year, Chinese consumers did seem interested in yet another VAG brand but the cars have not yet hit the market. Seat will be imported into China and possibly produced at the new FAW-VW factory in Foshan sometime in the [...]
Chinese consumers happier than ever, especially with home grown brands
J.D. Power Asia Pacific released 2011 China Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Study on July 28, which shows that the customer satisfaction index of China’s auto industry has reached new high due to progress in “vehicle delivery after service” and “service quality”. The study evaluates CSI from five aspects, i.e. service quality, service facilities, vehicle delivery [...]
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