Facelift Roewe 550 with minor nip and tuck spotted out testing

Spy Shots | Ash | December 6, 2011 at 3:47 pm

In 2012 the Roewe 550 will have been on the market for four years, in that four years on the market it has managed to turn the tables on the Chinese car market, for the first time a Chinese car appeared that was just as every bit as capable as its foreign competitors and had a strong marketing machine behind it, there were no TV advertisements exclaiming the 550′s dedication to the creation and up keeping of a harmonious society or any famous spokespeople doing the 550′s bidding, the 550 had proper advertisements that injected a certain premium feel to the brand, something that other Chinese car manufacturers had failed to achieve, and still do.

The 550 will be receiving its 2012/2013 update in early 2012, exterior updates seem to be quite slim with only a minor grill update and lower nip, the big changes have happened on the inside with an updated interior color system. The really big change is the introduction of the new dual clutch automatic gearbox that was developed in partnership between SAIC and GM specifically for the Chinese market, the 1.8T engine and 1.8 naturally aspirated engine are likely to remain the same units for the time being although there is a strong chance that the two will be dumped for the next generation of vehicle.

A plugin in version of the Roewe 550 is expected to launch in 2012.

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.