Is the Besturn B30 going to be under a new brand from FAW

The Chinese automotive media are running new pictures of what was initially thought to be the Besturn B30 sedan, but are now saying that this model could be the first of yet another new brand. The new brand is of course named Ou Lai and we have reported on it before, what the brand exactly hopes to achieve is not quite clear. FAW currently owns multiple brands with Hong Qi being positioned as a premium brand, Besturn being ‘affordable premium’ Haima being a mid range brand (but arguably an independent company within FAW’s ownership) and then of course you have Xia Li at the bottom, but now Ou Lai is expected to arrive to be yet another economy brand.

The B30 is based on VW’s PQ32 platform which was underpinning the 1982 VW Jetta which is still in production in China although will be terminated soon. Engine power will come from FAW’s own line up from the 4GB range which will include 1.4L and 1.6L engines mated to 5 speed manual and 4 speed auto.

An eventual launch date has not yet been announced, but we might see it at the Guangzhou Auto Show later this year.

Ash

Ash 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 most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.