About the author ⁄ FrankF

Frank entered the automotive industry via his father's instructions. He grew up with cars around him, especially as his father was a major auto restorer, Frank's childhood was spent passing beers, tools and coffee to his father whilst he explained the ins and outs of engines. Frank now works in the Chinese car industry at a specific manufacturer.

Fiat – Fast, Yet Slow

Fiat’s re-entry into the Chinese car market seems startling on paper, in just a three year period they have developed a new partnership with Guangzhou Auto, built their own ‘World Class Manufacturing facility’ in Changsha, developed a car specifically for the Chinese market and built and expanded their dealership network to 134 dealers with the…

May 11, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Fiat, Industry News Tagged Chrysler China, Fiat, GAC-Fiat, Jeep China, John Burton, Viaggio Comments 0

Chery A4 Road Testing, Readying for Full Production

The Chery A4 has already aired at the Shanghai Auto Show as as the Alpha concept car but it seems the car is well underway and doesn’t seem overly far from full production judging from these road testing pictures…

May 3, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Chery Automobile, Spy Shots Tagged Chery, chery a4, Chery spy shots, china car, China spy shots Comments 0

Detroit Electric Shows World’s Fastest EV in Shanghai, Inks Deal with Geely

Detroit Electric is an age old automotive brand, albeit one that slipped into the history books but has returned as a self proclaimed leader in the production and development of EV vehicles. Detroit Electric is headed by Albert Lam, Lam previously took Lotus Engineering into new markets such as China, India and the USA and and at one served as the Managing…

May 3, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Geely Automobile, Industry News Tagged Detroit Electric, Geely, Geely Detroit Electric, industry news Comments 2

Are GM Overstretching Themselves In China?

The Motley Fool debates the China issue for GM, the General is expected to invest 11 billion USD in China over the next few years which will net them greater sales but of course less return for each car sold due to a profit sharing agreement with its partner SAIC.

The Read More →

May 3, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Comments 0

Ferrari LaFerrari Has Asia Premier in Shanghai

If you don’t understand the hype around Ferrari’s latest car, let us tell you. The new Ferrari, codenamed F150 (much like Ford’s truck) is a hybrid performance vehicle which makes use of F1′s KERS technology to boost power to the 6.3L V12 engine to send power to 789BHP much like a turbo charging solution.

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Apr 27, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Shanghai Auto Show Tagged Ferrari China, LaFerrari, Shanghai Auto Show Comments 1

Are Xia Li’s Design Team Short Sighted?

Every year Xiali brings its cars to the major Chinese auto shows only to be out ranked by just about everyone there, even the Tong Ji University Coupe Concept looks better and that was made by students, Xia Li’s cars are actual production…
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Apr 27, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Shanghai Auto Show Comments 1

French President Gets First Ride in New Hong Qi Limo

French president, François Hollande, is in China this week and has already received a promise by the new Chinese President Xin Jin Ping to import even more French products starting from this year, China also promised to buy more Airbus planes which is likely to be welcome news for French and British workers. The Chinese government really did roll out…
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Apr 27, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Culture, Industry News Tagged FAW, Hong Qi L9, L9 Limo, Red Flag L9 Comments 3

Volkswagen’s iBeetle Comes to China, Disappoints

Volkswagen came to the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show with the introduction of an iBeetle which it partnered with Apple to create, hence the i-Name. Does that mean the new Beetle gains super connectivity and funky interfaces? No – it is simply the addition of an iPhone connector where you can plug in your iPod Touch or iPhone, the same could be achieved with…
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Apr 24, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Shanghai Auto Show, Volkswagen Group China Tagged apple, ibeetle, Shanghai Auto Show, VW Comments 1

Qoros Airs on Home Turf in Shanghai 2013 Auto Show

Qoros are the latest and hottest auto brand according to some, they aired earlier this year in Geneva and were eager to air their wares at the Shanghai Auto Show, they also gained the best spot in the W5 hall, with Audi across from them, Skoda and Seat to the left and Volkswagen taking up the far end of the hall they were well set to show one of the…
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Apr 24, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Qoros, Shanghai Auto Show Tagged 2013 Shanghai Auto Show, Qoros, Shanghai Auto Show Comments 0

Fiat Freemont Gains 3.6L Pentastar in China

The Fiat brand is tired out in the Chinese market, their early entry and early exit from the Chinese market has left some car consumers wondering just who this Italian upstart is. Now Fiat have a production facility online in China with their new JV partner Guangzhou Auto, the company is flying along with new models such as the China only Viaggio, Fiat…
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Apr 23, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Fiat, Shanghai Auto Show Tagged 3.6L Fiat Freemont, Fiat China, Pentastar Comments 0

A Visit to the VW Stand – Crossblue Coupe, Lavida Hatch, and 2013 CC

In previous years VW has rolled out two stands for the Beijing and Shanghai Auto Shows, one for its FAW-VW joint venture and another for Shanghai VW, usually at the opposite ends of the venue. Since last year VW has played a mothering hand in pushing the two naughty children together to make a super stand that almost dominates which ever hall it is…
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Apr 23, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Shanghai Auto Show, Shanghai VW Comments 1

The Chinese Luxury Market: A Two Horse Race, or Can Mercedes Move Ahead?

Audi has been the king of the Chinese luxury segment for as long as anyone…
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Mar 25, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Commentary Comments 0

MG6 Gains Six Speed Dual Clutch and Electronic Brake

The MG6 has been selling quite well in the Chinese market, although it is priced on par with products from international manufaturers. The MG6′s biggest draw backs were the ancient 5 speed automatic gearbox and the perculiar hand brake that seemed to pop out at a strange angle. Both are gone for 2013 – a six speed dual clutch gearbox is on its way as…
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Feb 20, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Chinese Car News Comments 2

Chery A2 Spotted

In the past few weeks we have seen multiple new models from Chery’s team, the Chery A4 was spotted out just a few days ago and now it is being followed up with the introduction of the Chery A2. Chery announced late last year that it was planning to ‘kill…
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Feb 20, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Chery Automobile, Spy Shots Comments 0

And We’re Back!

Did you miss China Car Times through the Chinese New Year Celebrations? We did. The initial plan was to take the site off line for a day or two to update the site design with a new one but we hit upon a few issues. Firstly the server kept filling up due to a lack of caching software (so many var/tmp errors) but we didn’t realize this until too late,…
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Feb 20, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Chinese Car News, Industry News Comments 0

VW’s Sub Brand Details Emerge

Yesterday FAW-VW’s Vice President Mr. Qin Huan Ming revealed to Chinese press that the company is considering creating a new low level brand for the Chinese market. Mr. Qin revealed that FAW-VW were likely to create new brand based off the outgoing Mk2 Jetta where four new models would be created priced at 60,000RMB to 80,000RMB with yearly production…
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Feb 7, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged FAW-VW, Mr. Qin, Qin Huan Ming, VW Comments 0

GM Looking To Buy Chinese Brands

According to Chinese media reports and reports from Bloomberg, GM are apparently looking to buy into struggling Chinese auto manufacturers. By 2015 GM is expected to lift its China sales by 75% to roughly 5 million units per year, and by buying a Chinese brand they will be able to increase capacity relatively easy.

Despite joining the World Trade…
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Feb 7, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged auto manufacturers, China, Chinese media reports, gm, manufacturers, World Trade Organization Comments 1

Alfa Romeo Giulietta Coming to China

Over the last 100 years, Alfa Romeo have established themselves as a brand with real integrity when…
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Feb 6, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Chinese Car News Tagged Alfa Romeo, Alfa Romeo Giulietta, car, China, Giulietta, hatchbacks, November 2011, stylish cars Comments 0

Brilliance H120 Pops Up in Shenyang

Over the past few years we have seen a change in direction with Chinese manufacturers, for a time it seemed that they were in a continual race to the bottom with ever cheaper cars, see the BYD F0 and Cherry QQ series for strong examples. Cheap cars don’t provide too much in terms of profit, but they do provide volume. If BYD and Chery didn’t have vehicles…
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Feb 5, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Brilliance Auto, Chinese Car News, Industry News Tagged a change in direction, car, cars, cheaper cars, Cherry QQ, Chery, Chinese manufacturers, design language, F0, H120, H120 Pops, QQ, race to the bottom, Shenyang Comments 0

Fiat Launches in Korea

Korea is a tough market for imported brands, but Fiat is more than up to the task. The Korean market, as you would expect, is dominated by local players such as Hyundai and Kia as well as GM’s local arm, and to a lesser extent Ssangyong. Japanese manufacturers have tried to tap the market but Korean’s remain loyal to local brands, Fiat is hoping to…
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Feb 5, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Chinese Car News, Industry News Tagged Asia Pacific region, Fiat, Fiat 500, Fiat 500c, Fiat Launches, gm, Korea Korea, local brands, South Korean market, ssangyong, The Korean market, tough market Comments 0

Dongfeng’s X-Terra Based Aoting Get’s Minor Update

The first generation X-Terra has been on the market for a decade under the Paladin name, the second generation never made it to China but Nissan passed it onto joint venture partner Zhengzhou Dongfeng who make commercial vehicles on behalf Nissan, where the Paladin became the AoTing.

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Feb 1, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Spy Shots Tagged Aoting, China, commercial vehicles, Dongfeng, government agencies, joint venture, nissan, Nissan Patrol, the Paladin, turbo diesel engines, X-Terra, Zhengzhou Dongfeng Comments 0

Facelift Grand Cherokee Road Testing in China

What’s the best way to road test your facelift car without it getting noticed by the general public who are armed with high quality cellphone cameras? Obviously not covering your car in eye catching camo is one method. The facelift Grand Cherokee has been spotted road testing in China ahead of a launch in March-April this year.

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Feb 1, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Jeep China, Spy Shots Tagged car, cellphone cameras, China, facelift car, facelift Grand Cherokee, Facelift Grand Cherokee Road Testing Comments 0

Dongfeng’s Mini Van Appears

In the past few months we’ve seen a spate of up market bread vans, Wuling started it by grafting a car style nose onto the traditional snub nosed bread vans that span the bridge between cars and vans, Chang’an launched the Honor and now Dongfeng are here with their own model, the catchy named F505.

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Jan 31, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Dongfeng Motor Company, Spy Shots Tagged bread vans, car style nose, Chang, diesel engine, Dongfeng, gasoline engine, Mini Van Appears, spate, traditional snub nosed, vans, Wuling Comments 0

Freelander To Be Made in China, Use Chery 2.0T Engine and Have 7 Seats

The Chinese media are pushing around various stories regarding the forthcoming third generation of Land Rover Freelander. The Freelander is expected to be one of the first vehicles to be made in China under the new joint venture arangement between Chery and JLR, the two companies are expected to carry out considerable amounts of R&D together to…
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Jan 29, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Chinese Car News Tagged Chery, China, engines, Freelander, JLR, joint venture, Land Rover Freelander, Seats The Chinese media, vehicles Comments 0

Hyundai to Launch Facelift Tucson In Next Three Months

Selling two or more generation of cars has become the ultimate trick in the Chinese car sales handbook. VW sold a few dozen different Passat’s alongside each other, and still does, Mazda has multiple 6′s and Hyundai offer up three different Elantra’s and Buick has three Excelle’s. Now Hyundai are planning to keep the first generation around a little…
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Jan 29, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Beijing Hyundai, Spy Shots Tagged Beijing Hyundai, Elantra, Facelift Tucson, generation, Hyundai, Hyundai SUV, mazda, Passat, the Chinese market, the first generation, VW Comments 0

Suzuki SX4 to Receive Major Face Lift in 2013

The Suzuki SX4 was the crossover that turned China onto Crossovers. Lift a car by two inches at most and clad it in black…
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Jan 29, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Chang'an Suzuki Tagged Chang'an Suzuki, Diao Yu Island, instant sales, manual gearboxes, manufacturers, Suzuki, Suzuki SX4, SX4 Comments 0

Forbes asks the Hard Questions: Why Haven’t Chinese Cars Come to the USA?

The simple answer being of course, Federal Crash Standards. In a seemingly eternal battle of cat and mouse, as soon as Chinese manufacturers meet Euro 5 emissions or build a car that has NCAP 4 stars or better, a new range of standards and guidelines appear that take it to the next level for their already stretched R&D budget.

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Jan 21, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged China, Federal Crash Standards, gac, Jean Halliday, Mike Manley, Xiangdong Huang Comments 11

What Happened to the Proposed Volvo China Boom?

In 2010 Geely acquired Volvo, and then in 2012 the government announced it would buy more locally made cars rather than Audis. It was largely thought that Volvo, as a Chinese owned company, would get a major leg up in the 2012 sales market, but the opposite has happened, sales fell.

Ford established its joint venture with Changâ€™an Automobile…
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Jan 21, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Chinese Car News Tagged Chinese consumers, joint venture, Volvo, Volvo dealership, Volvo S40, Volvo S60 Comments 4

Dongfeng’s HUV Arrives in the Patent Office

When a car appears in the Chinese patent office it can only mean that the model is on its way to production lines and then to the market, the Dongfeng HUV appeared yesterday.
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Jan 21, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Spy Shots Tagged Chinese patent office, Dongfeng, Dongfeng Crazy Soldier, Dongfeng HUV, HUV, production lines Comments 0

BYD CEO Wang Chuan Fu Believes BYD has Caught Its Second Breath

BYD’s CEO and one of China’s richest men, in a recent interview with China’s Securities Report put forth his belief that BYD are in the progress of catching their second breath in the Chinese market owing to their improved technology, quality and green technology.

At the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show BYD are expected to launch a new generation of green…
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Jan 17, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged China, green technology, regenerative braking systems, Shanghai Auto Show BYD, technology, Wang Chuan, Wang Chuan Fu Comments 1

New Jetta Due On March 9th

March 9th is being set aside as the launch date for the New Jetta. The New Jetta was aired at the Chengdu Auto Show in October this year and was then pushed…
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Jan 17, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged Bora, Chengdu Auto Show, Chengdu Auto Show coverage, Global Automotive Forum, Guangzhou auto show, New Bora, new Jetta, Nissan March, Skoda Rapid, VW Comments 0

Besturn X80 SUV Reveals Interior and Exterior

FAW’s ability to develop and design its own vehicles may have been drawn into consideration on several occasions on CCT, but the X80 is proving us all wrong one step at a time.

The X80 first aired as a concept vehicle at the Beijing Auto Show early last year in concept form and was quickly spotted out testing on Chinese roads, especially in the frigid…
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Jan 16, 2013 Posted by FrankF In First Automobile Works Tagged Beijing Auto Show, CCT, Chinese Production, concept vehicle, FAW, Hainan island, Northern China, X80 Comments 1

No More Yearly Limits on Car Age – Cars Now Limited to 600,000KM Before Scrapping

Previously cars on the Chinese mainland had a worryingly short life span, small taxi vehicles were limited to 8 years, mid size rental vehicles were limited to 10 years…
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Jan 15, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged 15 years on the road, China, Classic cars, Ministry of Environment, National Development and Reform Committee, National Police Department, No More Yearly Limits, privately owned vehicles, rental vehicles, the Chinese mainland, the Ministry of Finance and Business Comments 8

BMW Staff Jumping Ship, Reportedly Heading to Jaguar-LandRover

Last week the China Daily reported that one of BMW China’s more senior leaders at the BMW-Brilliance Joint Venture was preparing to leave his post. Today another report indicates that the Vice President, Mr. Lu Yi is preparing to move to the new Chery-JLR joint venture as the new CEO.

From China Daily:

BMW Brilliance Senior Vice-President…
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Jan 15, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged bmw, BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd, BMW China Automotive, BMW China Automotive Trading Ltd, BMW-Brilliance, BMW-Brilliance Joint Venture, China, China Business News, China Daily, Daniel Kirchert, Lu Yi, President and CEO Christoph Stark Comments 0

Ford’s Kuga SUV is Unofficially Priced From 198,9000RMB for 1.6T

Ford’s Kuga SUV will be the car that finally puts Ford on the map this year if these prices are to be believed. Chinese media are leaking the prices of the 1.6T and 2.0T gasoline…
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Jan 11, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged Chinese media, Ford, gasoline models, Kuga, VW Tiguan Comments 2

BYD Qin Due in 2013

BYD’s Qin Hybrid Concept was unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show in early 2012, but according to Chinese media reports we will see the concept role into sheet metal later this year.

The Qin made use of BYD’ self developed 1.5T that has respectable figures attached when paired to BYD’s own Dual Clutch Gearbox and BYD’s own self developed electric drive…
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Jan 11, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged Qin, Qin Due Comments 1

Work on Renault Factory to Begin in March

Renault have long been out of the Chinese market, Renault initially had a joint venture with SanJiang where the Renault Traffic was made. The JV was not successful but SanJiang was taken over the larger Dongfeng, meaning that Renault and Dongfeng can go ahead with producing cars in China thanks to the original agreement with Sanjiang, nonetheless Dongfeng…
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Jan 8, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged China, Chinese media, Dongfeng, joint venture, March Renault, National Development and Reform Commission, production lines, Renault, Renault Factory, Renault Traffic, SanJiang, the Chinese market Comments 1

Nissan Sells 1.18 Million Cars in 2012, Down 5.3%

Nissan strong sales in China have come to an abrupt halt thanks to the diplomatic spat between China and Japan over the Diao Yu Islands. Toyota have also suffered a similar fate as Chinese consumers stayed away from Japanese brands, either out of patriotic duty or due to Japanese cars being destroyed in riots. Japanese car sales fell back in October…
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Jan 8, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged abrupt halt, China, China and Japan, Chinese consumers, Diao Yu Islands, Japanese brands, Japanese car sales, Japanese cars, Million Cars, nissan, Nissan China, patriotic duty, Strong Sales, Toyota Comments 2

Toyota China Lands Sales of 840,000 Units in 2012

Toyota, the worldâ€™s biggest car manufacturer, announced earlier today that the company achieved sales of 840,000 units in the Chinese market. Sales were less than expected owing to the political issues between China and Japan which kept Chinese consumers away from Japanese branded cars after riots broke out in several different cities where Japanese…
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Jan 8, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Industry News, Toyota China Tagged car manufacturer, cars, China and Japan, Chinese consumers, political issues, the Chinese market, Toyota, Toyota China Lands Sales Comments 0

Toyota GT86 To Launch in March

The Toyota GT86 has been aired in the Chinese market at the Beijing Auto Show alongside the Subaru BRZ last year, this year the much hyped car is set to launch on Chinese roads.

The GT86 has been lauded in overseas markets, especially in the USA where it prices in at 26,000USD. Chinese prices are expected to be closer to 300,000RMB when it launches,…
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Jan 8, 2013 Posted by FrankF In Industry News, Toyota China Tagged Beijing Auto Show, car price, import taxes, Subaru BRZ, the Chinese market, Toyota, Toyota GT86 Comments 0

Geely Looking to Buy Manganese Bronze

The UK taxi manufacturer Manganese Bronze was hit by the perfect storm of issues over the past four years, taxi sales slumped from 2008 onwards due to the recession and also suffered…
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Dec 28, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged Geely, joint venture, losses, Manganese Bronze, UK Comments 0

FAW Contemplating Bengal Production Plant

From Yahoo India

The Nano may have been driven out of Bengal before it set up shop in Gujarat but a major Chinese company ‘ First Automotive Works (FAW) ‘ is considering both states as a possible location for its first plant…
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Dec 28, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged Acquisition, automobile, automotive, Bengal, Calcutta, Calcutta-based, centre, Chinese company, Chinese enterprises, Chinese-owned, company, consideration, Contemplating, delegation, dog, Dongfang, Dongfang Electric Company Ltd, Electric, equipment, Factory, FAW, firm, First Automotive Works, India, Interview, Investment, Land, Lizhong, localisation, location, Ltd, Market, order, partner, Passenger, past, planning, Plant, Power, problem, production, Rajarhat, region, service, shop, Telegraph, tie-up, venture, view, work, Works, yahoo, Zhang, Zhang Lizhong Comments 0

Chinese Dealers Ready to Drop Japanese Brands?

According to the SMCP, some Chinese car dealers are ready to drop their Chinese brands and move over to other ‘safe brands’, but what exactly is a safe brand in China? With mob mentality at an all time high its easy for Korean, French, German or American brands to ‘Upset the feelings of the Chinese peoples‘. French supermarket chain, Carrefour,…
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Dec 10, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged 2008 Olympic torch relay, aggression, AlixPartners, American acts, American brands, anger, Association, automobile, bet, brand, brands, bulk, business, car, car dealers, Carrefour, chain, China, Chinese consumers, Chinese fishermen, Chinese media, Citroen, city, Corp, cost, Dealers, Demand, Diao, director, dispute, drop, Economic, Expansion, face, Failing, family, femine, fine, fish, Foreign, future, General, grocery, Hyundai, issue, Italy, Japanese, Japanese brands, kiosk, Korean waters, leg, line, Mao, Marketing, matter, mentality, Military, mob, mob mentality, money, motor, move, nissan, number, office, Olympic, person, persuasion, plan, pride, Ready to Drop Japanese Brands, relay, Shanghai-based, shop, showroom, SMCP, spat, strategy, Subaru, supermarket, term, territorial, the China Automobile Dealers Association, the Chinese peoples, Tibetan, time, torch, Toyota, traffic, vandalise, Volkswagen, William Chen, wing, wont, wry Comments 2

2013 Subaru Forester to Hit Market on December 19th

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Dec 7, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Chinese Car News Tagged auto, base, December, end, grills, Guangzhou auto show, guise, interesting vehicle, Market, meat, model, naturally aspirated, November, on December 19th, pricing, RMB, show, step, Subaru, Subaru Forester, the Forester, turbo, turbo guise, vehicle, year Comments 0

Baojun SUV heading to China Soon

The Baojun brand is made up of two vehicles, the 630…
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Dec 6, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Chinese Car News Tagged baojun, basis, brand, Buick, buy, Captiva, car, chevrolet, Chevrolet Captiva, China, compact, Crossover, Excelle, generation, gm, hand, hatchback, line, model, platform, production, range, rebirth, rumor, sedan, Spark, speed, suv, tech, territory, the old Chevrolet Spark, vehicle Comments 0

Nissan Leaf Becomes a Venucia

Almost all sub brands from joint venture manufacturers are expected…
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Nov 30, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Guangzhou Auto Show Tagged brand, car, electric models, Electric Vehicles, end, government, introduction, joint venture manufacturers, length, line, LxWxH, nbsp, network, nissan, Nissan dealerships, Nissan Leaf, none, range, review, sedan, sub, testing, the, the Leaf, tiida, time, vehicle, Vencuia, venture, Venucia, volume, wheelbase Comments 2

Chery Running Short of Cash, Plans to Kill The Kids.

Reuters automotive reports Fang Yan and Kazunori Takada have dished out the dirt on Chery and their loss making ways. The two reporters discovered that Chery is essentially being kept…
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Nov 20, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Chery Automobile, Commentary, Industry News Tagged ATECO, auto, Beijing-based, brand, bread, building, butter, car, cash, Chairman, Chery, Chevy, China Lianhe Credit Rating Co, company, competition, confidence, copy, cost, Cowin, Credit, dealership, diesel, differentiation, dirt, displacement, duel, emgrand, energy, engine, example, Fang Yan, fuel, Fulwin, Geely, General, generation, government, government subsidies, hatchback, hit, Huang, Huaqiong, incentive, Investment, Ipsos, Kazunori, Kids, Lianhe, loss, Market, model, models, moment, money, month, mpv, nbsp, need, October, performance, product, production, profit, QQ, range, Rating, Red, Reely, Rely, report, research, Reuters, right, Riich, RMB, runner, sedan, September, series, situation, something, Spark, Spokesman, state, strategy, sub, suv, Takada, tax, TDI, technology, tiggo, time, turbo, visit, year, yuan Comments 9

VW Golf 7 Caught Naked in China

The VW Golf has been a major hit in the Chinese market, VW followed it up with the introduction of the GTI as a locally made model and also imported the wagon, crossover and R Series models to satisfy Chinese appetite for the hatchback model. The 7th generation Golf has been a headline inducing topic for the past few months, questions about when it…
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Nov 19, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Spy Shots Tagged 7th Generation, appetite, Audi, Caught, China, China The VW Golf, choice, Crossover, engine, Foshan, gallery, gen, generation, Golf, GTI, hatchback, headline, hit, introduction, June, June 2013, life, major, Market, model, models, MQB, Naked, News, part, platform, plenty, PRC, production, Series models, share, spy, the Chinese market, topic, TSI, VW, VW Golf, Wagon Comments 4

Volkswagen Aiming for 3000 Dealers in China

Volkswagen announced today that is expecting to expand its own dealership to 3000 dealers in the next 3 years, by 2015 the VAG group aims to expand its line up of Audi, VW and Skoda dealerships by over 50%. Currently VAG Group has 1,120 VW dealerships, 230 Audi dealerships and 240 Skoda dealers covering 30 Chinese provinces, territories and autonomous…
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Nov 19, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Industry News, Volkswagen Group China Tagged Aiming, Audi, Audi dealerships, autonomous regions, China, China Volkswagen, Chinese provinces, CKD, Currently VAG Group, dealership, Dealerships, Group, line, Market, Skoda, Skoda dealers, today, VAG, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Aiming, VW, VW dealerships Comments 3

Got 5 Million RMB, Tired of the Usual Options from Bentley and Rolls Royce? Hong Qi L9 is the Car For You!

Are you an aspiring dictator? Do you lead a Communist nation that likes the color red? If you’ve been answering YES! to all of these questions with much fervor, we can calm you down by telling you the Hong Qi L9 is heading your way.

The L9 is the civilian version of the state sedan that Hu Jin Tao used in 2009′s 60th…
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Nov 16, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Hong Qi Red Flag Tagged Army, bargain, Bentley and Rolls Royce, Bentley Mulsanne, Besturn, body, bomb, bullet, bullet proof, car, celebration, Chairman, Chairman Hu Jin Tao, civilian version, color, combo, comparison, construction, Day, dealership, dictator, engine, fervor, Got, hand, Hong, Hong Qi, Hong Qi L9, Hu Jin Tao, Jin, L9, lack, Liberation, liter, LxWxH, Million, model, nation, News, Old, Phantom, platform, pricing, proof, rail, RMB, Rolls Royce Phantom, rpm, sedan, self, state, Tao, the People's Liberation Army, Tired, torque, USD, Usual, version, way, wheelbase, whilst, wont, YES Comments 4

GM’s SPRINGO Joins the China Bucket of Brands

SPRINGO, or rather Springo for those that don’t like to be shouted out is the new brand/model name for the Chevrolet Sail EV. The Sail was designed and developed in China for the Chinese market and other developing markets, South American markets have already been on the receiving end of the gasoline variant for several months now. The pure electric…
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Nov 16, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged auto, brand, brands, Bucket, car, charge, chevrolet, Chevrolet Sail, China, course, developing, electric Sail, end, gallery, Gasoline, gm, home, hour, Joins, kph, Market, model, name, outlet, range, Sail, Shots, show, South American markets, speed, SPRINGO, spy, strategy, teaser, the China Bucket of Brands SPRINGO, the Chinese market, time, variant, Week Comments 0

Top Selling Brands in China in October, Japanese Brands Drop Like Lead Rocks

For the majority of this year the top selling brands have been VW, followed by Nissan. In the wake of the Anti-Japan protests in China, Nissan has dropped from the top spot like a lead balloon.

VW – 182,353

Hyundai – 63,946

Chevrolet – 58,917

Buick – 54,284

Ford – 43,42

Chery – 33,652

Kia…
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Nov 12, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged anti, balloon, brand, brands, Buick, BYD, Chang, Chery, chevrolet, China, company, comparison, drop, emgrand, Ford, Geely, honda, Hyundai, Japanese, Japanese brands, Kia, lead balloon, majority, nissan, October, Protests, Rocks, selling, Skoda, spot, target, Top Selling Brands, Toyota, VW, wake, year Comments 5

Top Selling Cars in October 2012. Hyundai Elantra is China’s Favorite Car.

Its been another good month for car manufacturers, as normal the usual faces are making it into the top 10 passenger cars but the addition of the latest Hyundai Elantra is an interesting one. A revised fifth generation Elantra was only just launched in China, the Lang Dong was aired at the Beijing Auto Show in April and seems to be gathering speed with…
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Nov 12, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged addition, April, auto, Bora, Buick, car, car manufacturers, chevrolet, Chevrolet Cruze, China, Cruze, Dong, Elantra, Exelle, favorite, fifth generation Elantra, gathering, gen, generation, Hyundai, hyundai elantra, Lang, Lang Dong, Lavida, month, October, October 2012, Passat, Passenger, passenger cars, production, Sagitar, Sail, sale, selling, show, speed, top, Top Selling Cars, VW Bora, VW Jetta, VW Passat Comments 0

Haima and Chang-an Join the Rush to South America With New Brazilian Factories.

Brazil’sÂ Districar have announced partnerships with China’s Haima and Chang’an Auto to produce the range of vehicles in Brazil by 2015, the same factory will also produce Ssangyong vehicles.

The three brands are currently imported into Brazil but Districar’s CEO Abdul Ibraimo believes that there is a strong business car for localized production…
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Oct 30, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged Abdul Ibraimo, auto, brazil, business, car, Chang, Chang-an, Districar, end, Factory, Haima, Join, New, production, range, rush, South America, ssangyong, vehicles Comments 3

Sighted in China: Baby Blue Porsche

Due to Read More →

Sep 19, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Chinese Car News Tagged Porsche, Sighted in China Comments 5

Chery has its GM Moment

In 2009 Chery and Geely both launched a multitude of new…
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Sep 17, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Commentary Tagged Branding Exercise, Chery, Commentary, Frank F, gm Comments 1

2013 VW Jetta NF – This is it

Volkswagen have high hopes for the Chinese market as it heads for the mantel of World’s Largest Automaker, the Chinese market is expected to be the cornerstone of these plans as the German manufacturer slowly reaches its goal. Chinese consumers bought into the VW brand early thanks to VW becoming the first passenger car manufacturer in China in 1984,…
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Aug 31, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Industry News, Volkswagen Group China Tagged 2013 FAW-VW Jetta, 2013 VW Jetta NF, industry news Comments 3

Suzuki Swift Saloon Heading to China

Is the Suzuki Swift Saloon heading to China? We know that Chinese consumers have a taste for the small notchback sedan, but will they have a taste for Suzuki’s mini saloon? The Swift Saloon is already on sale in India as the Suzuki Maruti Dzire, these leaked pictures from the Chinese patent office show the Swift…
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Aug 31, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Spy Shots Tagged China, Chinese consumers, Dzire, gallery, glory, notchback, office, patent, saloon, show, stage, Suzuki Maruti Dzire, suzuki swift, Swift Saloon, taste Comments 1

2013 Facelift Mercedes E-Class Road Testing in China

China is the target of all luxury car makers, each and everyone of them are trying to figure out the Chinese consumers psyche in developing its new range of products. Should we make it bigger, should we make it longer? Should we keep a Baiju cabinet in the back? Should we make the leather gray/cream/white or black? The questions seem almost…
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Aug 31, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Beijing-Benz, Spy Shots Tagged Beijing Benz, Facelift E-Class, Spy Shots Comments 0

GM’s Chevrolet Sail Spied Testing, Possibly To Sit Under New Brand Name

GM, like every other manufacturer in China, is serious about the ‘New Energy Market’ and are planning to launch the pure electric Sail in the Chinese market very soon. The Sail was a car designed solely in China for the Chinese market, but it has been exported to other developing markets such as Chile. The Sail EV has appeared as a concept car previously,…
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Aug 31, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Green News Tagged Chevrolett Sail EV, gm, green, Green News, industry news, Sail EV, Spy Shots Comments 8

Chery Says Exports Up In First Half Of Year

Chery is once again leading the Chinese automotive export pack with exports in the first half of the year increasing by 26.1% according to reports in the China Daily. Chery’s Mr. Jin Yi Bo reported last week that Chery exported over 112,000 cars from January to July, compared with 88,835 vehicles in the same period in 2011, an increase of 26.1%.

Chery…
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Aug 20, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged Chery, chery exports, Sales Up Comments 0

Miss China Becomes Miss World

Cars, Trains, Planes and automobiles are this sites main talking points,…
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Aug 20, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Culture Tagged beauty, Becomes, city, contest, development, Dow Jones China, Inner, Jessica Michelle Kahawaty, Jones, Miss China, Miss World, Miss World 2012, Ordos, Sophie Elizabeth Moulds, student, time, title, Yu Wenxia, Zhang Zilin Comments 0

FAW’s Besturn SUV Turns Out Rather Handsome – Spy Shots

FAW are not known for their stylish cars, the Besturn B70 was a blockish affair even though it was penciled by Giorgetto Giugiaro, who seemingly sold the same drawings to Dongfeng for the Fengshen series, it was an odd looking car, the smaller B50 wasn’t much of an improvement, but this new SUV could be considered a masterpiece in the Besturn showroom…
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Aug 13, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Besturn, Spy Shots Tagged Besturn, Besturn X80, spyshots, suv, X80 Comments 2

Grand Voyager Coming to China

The Chrysler Voyager is the second Chrysler branded product…
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Aug 13, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged China, Chrysler, Grand Voyager Comments 1

Cadillac XTS Rolling on Chinese Roads

The Cadillac XTS is going to be the next launch for Cadillac in China, the SRX is already flying out of showrooms but the Chinese made SLS is languishing bad. Although on paper the SLS seems to tick all the right boxes with its 2.0T producing 270bhp (the first 4cylinder Caddy), the looks department are letting the car down. The XTS is supposed to replace…
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Aug 13, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Spy Shots Tagged Cadillac, Spy Shots, XTS Comments 0

China Auto Market Up 8.16% in July, But Growth Slower Than Before

1.38 million vehicles were sold in July according to the latest statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), with growth of 8.16% reported for the industry as a whole when including passenger and commercial vehicles. Month on Month it seems that May’s 9.9% growth and June’s startling 16% growth was due to the kick back from…
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Aug 10, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Industry News Tagged Association, Beijing Auto Show, CAAM, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China Auto Market, commercial vehicle, commercial vehicles, Consumer, Growth, kick, percent, range, Reuters, segment, vehicle Comments 0

BYD Revels F3 Plus Details Online, 1.5T, Dual Clutch, and Self Driving.

BYD’s new flagship compact sedan, the F3 Plus, or Su Rui in Chinese, is going to launch on September 10th which is just 30 days away. In the meantime to keep BYD fans salivating at the thought of a high value low cost sedan, BYD released renders of the final product earlier today.

The BYD F3 Plus is not to be sniffed at, the car may…
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Aug 10, 2012 Posted by FrankF In BYD Auto Tagged BYD, BYD F3 Plus, BYD Su Rui, industry news Comments 2

Chery’s First Pick Up Truck Channels Inner Chevrolet

Chery’s first pick up truck has been revealed, and it looks a lot like a Chevrolet Colorado. Chery have been quietly entering the light and heavy truck industry for a while now, the big interest for a car maker entering the truck game is volume, whilst sales prices on Chinese trucks are not high they make it up in the million unit per year volume.

The…
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Aug 9, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Spy Shots Tagged Chery, China, Clone, karry truck, Spy Shots, truck Comments 8

Chery Tiggo 5 Struts its Stuff Ahead of Launch

The Chery Tiggo5 has been coming for a long time, it was first thought that the Reely X5 would be the next edition to the Tiggo range but that went off to be a full size SUV that saw little sales. The Tiggo3 has been a stronger sales machine for Chery to date, even though it was one of Chery’s first cars it has continued to be updated. The next model…
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Aug 9, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Chery Automobile, Chinese Car News, Spy Shots Tagged Chery, FrankF, Spy Shots, Tiggo5 Comments 3

Chang-an’s Bull F101 Minivan Spied

Chang-an introduced their bull minivan a few months back as an upmarket version to the regular Chang-an van range, at first it was thought to be a one off but the prancing bull has spread over to the F101.

In recent years there has been a trend for Mian Bao Che’s to lose their sliding side doors in favor of a car like door, front ends…
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Aug 8, 2012 Posted by FrankF In Spy Shots Tagged changan, mianbao, spyshots Comments 0

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