The CD101 is the first mid size sedan from the company, test vehicles have been spotted out testing in the Sichuan area with suitable amounts of dirt attached to them, presumably hitting some rural roads on their test roads. Chinese media were overly quick to say that the CD101 is a mish mash of existing cars, according to autohome.com.cn the front of the CD101 is overly 8^th generation Honda Accord and the rear is on par with the last generation Toyota Camry, although to us it seems these are overly stretched examples. However the exterior looks, the interior looks to be world class and on par with the Japanese models it apparently aspires to be.

Power has not yet been announced, but we can bet that it will be something in the 2.0L and above range.

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.

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The new SUV has already been shown off as a concept at the Frankfurt Auto Show and this is thought to be the first time that the new SUV has been caught out testing. Chinese media are reporting that this SUV will be using Chang-an’s new 1.5T engine, although the body looks overly heavy for such a small unit, perhaps a larger aspirated engine such as a 1.8L will also be used alongside the 1.5T.

A Beijing Auto Show launch later this year in April is more than likely.

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.

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Where as other Chinese auto makers have moved to copy or be inspired by existing hot selling compact SUV’s, Chang’an is apparently keen to stay away from ‘borrowed designs’ by introducing its own design language into the segment. The E301 concept, shown in the  bottom left hand picture was unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show in 2009 and was quickly named as one of the best concept cars at the show by Chinese press, however concept cars rarely look anything like their final production vehicles so it seems that the Frankfurt concept is likely to be closer to the final product that we see testing here.

A 2012 Beijing Auto Show airing is likely to be the new SUV’s debut airing, as the mini SUV was developed in Beijing at the CH-Auto design center where Chang-an’s design team now reside in partnership with CH-Auto.

Power for the new SUV is likely to be the same as Chang-an’s new EADO sedan which has a range topping 1.5T and also a 2.0L and 1.8L engine.

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.

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The new joint venture has a record 8.4 billion RMB of funding by both parties and will have an initial output of 200,000 vehicles per year according to Citroen at last weeks Guangzhou Auto Show. In addition to the factory PSA and Chang’an will set up a research and development facility where they will invest a further 500 million RMB.

The new factory will eventually be producing PSA’s line of vehicles including Peugeot and Citroen models, but will also produce a new sub brand for the Chinese market which will be designed and worked on in partnership with Chang’an Motors.

Short term goals are quite simple: Set up a dealer network of 20 to 25 dealerships by the end of 2012 and then expand that to 200 dealers by 2015.

The European’s second-largest automaker sold only 370,000 vehicles in China last year, a 3.3 percent share of the overall market. The company said earlier this year that its goal is to have an 8 percent share by 2015.

PSA sold 370,000 vehicles in China last year via its joint ventures with Dongfeng Auto which gave it a 3.3% share of the Chinese market, but with the introduction of the DS range Europe’s no 2 automaker is hoping to boost its market share to 8%.

The DS range will initially be imported into China with sales expected to begin 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.

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We tried to find some PR people at the Chang’an stand this week, but it seems that they were all busy – playing a driving simulation game on multiple X-Box units on the Chang’an stand. At least they looked busy.

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.

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The Ao Nuo will have its official unveiling at the Guangzhou Auto Show next week, but Chang’an have displayed official pictures of the car ahead of time to grab some precious headlines ahead of an automotive frenzy. Engine capacity will be of course 1.3L and 1.5L with a manual gearbox, although don’t be surprised if Chang’an sneak a 4speed auto into the Ao Nuo to give it an edge on its competitors, all of whom dont offer an automatic at this level.

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.

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“Chang’an started the overseas expansion strategy five years ago, beginning exports to developing countries with light commercial vehicles, including minivans,” said Zhu Huarong, vice-president of the company. “Now we are targeting the European markets and the United States market to make Chang’an a true international automaker from China.”

Zhu told China Daily that Chang’an is preparing for the debut of its showrooms in Europe in 2013, with entry into the US market following.

“We are communicating with potential local dealers, recruiting talent, and getting approval for our vehicles in Europe right now,” Zhu said at the Frankfurt Auto Show.

Chongqing-based Chang’an is the only Chinese automaker at the international show and is launching four new models – two sedans, a sport utility vehicle, and a fully electric car.

“This in the first time we are exhibiting our products and technologies at an international auto show outside China. The feedback from visitors is making us consider participating in the Geneva auto show and Paris auto show next year,” Zhu said.

By 2015, Chang’an plans to have 20 percent of its total sales in overseas markets, primarily with passenger cars. Currently, no more than 10 percent of its sales are outside China, mostly light-duty commercial vehicles.

In the first eight months of this year, its overseas sales grew by 75 percent from a year earlier.

“The EADO sedan, which was designed by our overseas R&D centers and is making its world premiere at the show, will be our strategic model in the European markets, as a car developed according to the high quality and design standards in Europe,” Zhu said.

To prepare for its overseas expansion with the right products for the international market, Chang’an, the Chinese partner of Ford Motor Co, Suzuki Motor Corp, and PSA Peugeot Citroen, established research and development centers in Turin in 2006, Yokohama in 2008, Nottingham last year and Detroit this year.

Zhu also said that the company will launch a premium brand next year as part of its overseas expansion plan.

“We will invest at least 2 billion yuan ($313 million) to develop that brand, to strengthen our brand image in global market,” Zhu said.

Although China has been the world’s largest automobile market for two years, Chinese automakers have recently become eager to have a presence in international markets, with moves to acquire foreign brands, produce exports and establish their manufacturing facilities in developing economies.

However, with less product competitiveness and a weak brand image, it’s difficult for them to make a foray into the mature Western markets of Europe and North America.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s partner, Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd, became the first Chinese company to sell cars in Western Europe in 2006. However, a lack of competitiveness and Brilliance’s Luxembourg-based dealership’s shortage of capital forced the Chinese automaker to quit the market last year.

Cao He, auto analyst with China Minzu Securities Co Ltd, said that to have a good made-in-China image in the global market, Chinese automakers should strengthen their capabilities to export high-quality cars and no longer put their total focus on low-price and low-end markets.

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.

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The Eado is boasting a Blue Core badge on the rear which looks very similar to Mercedes own Blue Efficiency badge, Blue Core is Chang-an’s own low Co2 emissions standard, the car will be available with a naturally aspirated 1.6L or a 1.5T engine with power reaching 81kW and CO2 being lower than 120g/km.

As the perceived safety levels of Chinese cars is relatively low in Western countries Chang-an has gone all out on the safety of the Eado with ABS, EBD and 6 airbags being installed as standard and of course being built to a 5 star standard.

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.

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The above car is Chang-an’s latest mid size sedan that will give the company some fight in the battle for the government procurement list, the Chinese government set down a law several years ago which encouraged more government ministers to buy locally produced cars and give up their Audi’s to promote local brands, except ministers moaned that there were not enough good large sized Chinese sedans. Chery, Geely, Besturn and Chang’an answered the governments patriotic call and started building cars fit for chauffeuring, Geely made the Emgrand EC8, Chery the Riich G5 and G6, Besturn has the B70 and soon B90 whilst Chang’an came up with this CD101. On the outside its hard to tell what the CD101 will actually look like, but we can certainly say that it won’t be carrying any blue and white logos, but on the inside the CD101 seems to be quite a well made car with plenty of technology available for drivers to make their lives more comfortable on the roads.

Engine power has not yet been determined, but Chinese media reports indicate a self developed 1.8T engine and a naturally aspirated 2.0L engine. Pricing can only be guessed at the moment, but we can say something in the 120,000rmb and rising sector.

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.

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Engine power will come from a 1.3L engine and should be priced from 50,000rmb and rising when launched 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.

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The C201 is shaping up to be an interesting and certainly different car, Chang-an’s models have so far been down to earth ‘boxy’ vehicles, but the C201 seems to have broken the low cost, economy mold at Chang’an HQ. Chang’an recently established a Beijing design center which has been able to attract more Chinese and international design talent to the group drawing boards, which may explain why the C201 is looking so sharp.

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.

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However, it seems that Chang’an are on the verge of making something to rival the Nissan NV200 rather than the Buick GL8, this new van will be carrying a 1.2L and a 1.4L engine, which is somewhat smaller than the Buick’s 2.4 and 3.0L V6. Chang’an seem to wanting to use the Golden Bull logo on this model which has only been seen on one other model to date.

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.

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Chang’an have invested a great deal into developing their engineering capability with a new R&D facility in the UK which is aggressively hiring local and European talent for its new facility.

The C201 will see the bright lights of Frankfurt’s auto show later this according to press reports, which could indicate a launch in the heavily competitive German market, Brilliance once tried to enter this market but were forced out after ADAC crash tested their car and awarded it zero stars. The C201 measures in at 4610 x 1780 x 1500mm and has a wheel base of 2660mm, engine power for this model will be a 1.6L engine.

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.

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The below Chang’an sedan is based on the CD101 concept sedan that we have seen before at the Shanghai and Beijing Auto Shows, the sedan is likely to launch in early 2012 and will be powered by a 1.8L, 2.0L and also a self developed 1.8T engine. As with all Chinese mid size sedans they will launch first with a manual gearbox and then launch an automatic later, note that most mid size car manufacturers usually launch with an automatic only and then only offer manuals on the low end models. Are Chinese companies failing to understand their target consumers, or are we?

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.

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Engines for the new Xing Cheng are likely to be a range of 1.8L and 2.0L engines, the 2.5L offered in overseas markets is not likely to come to China. Prices are expected to be from 100,000rmb and rising when it finally launches.

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.

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The joint venture company was formed in late 2010 and will be PSA’s second joint venture in the Chinese market after their tie up with Dongfeng Auto. Chang’an Auto are based in South West China and already boast joint ventures with Ford, Mazda, and Volvo as well as their own independent brand.

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.

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The second generation Mazda3 is on sale in China as an imported hatchback, the new sedan is about to be made in China and will hit the market at the same time as the facelift model goes on sale the world over. The current 2008 Mazda3 will not face death in China, the platform will be recycled for a new China only brand from Chang’an Mazda, the company will join Nissan, Honda and GM in developing a Chinese sub brand that could one day be exported to foreign markets. The Mazda3 is not expected to undergo massive changes for the new sub brand, instead its expected that it will get a front end makeover rather than completely new metal according to Chinese media reports.

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.

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This little concept was caught getting no press attention at the side of the Citroen stand, not much information was available on the Green-i concept, but the related signage did say that Chang’an and PSA share the same vision for a greener future.

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.

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The Mazda3 is an odd car in China, the sedan is made by long term partners Chang’an and Mazda, but the hatchback version is imported from Japan and sold on for a bit more but contains the same innards. Even more confusing: The Chinese build Mazda3 hasn’t been given a serious make over or major update since its launch in 2006, yet the car remains a strong seller for 2011 and 2012 Chang’an Mazda are finally planning to introduce the latest Mazda3 sedan into China as a locally made product, spy pictures have been floating around the Chinese automotive portals for several days now that clearly show the sedan version of the 3 out testing:

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.

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Changa’n is famous for its outlandish concept cars, although in recent years it has managed to turn some of its concepts into reality, now that they have SAIC’s former chief designer, Ma Zheng Kun, running their Beijing studio we’re likely to see even greater cars from Chang’an.

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.

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Chang-an’s self branded vehicle range is made up of its mini van and compact car range, the mini van range is benefiting from the cars to the countryside subsidy program that the government introduced to improve the speed of car ownership take-up in rural areas and to also remove polluting farm vehicles from the road.

According to stats released by OICA (The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers), Chang’an produced 1.42 million vehicles in 2009 making it the largest car producer in China and ranked 13th in the world, ahead of BMW but behind Daimler, should Chang-an achieve its lofty production goal of 2.5 million then Chang’an will boost its production rankings to the 7th or 8th position.

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.

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Chang'an W1

Chang’an have turned from a sleepy backwater car manufacturer to a major threat to the worlds top five auto makers in less than a couple of years with its range of self developed cars. Chang’an produces mostly small cars and has a line up 8 models under the Chang’an brand which includes compact sedans, mpv’s and mini hatchbacks, one thing that they do lack is a compact SUV. The Chinese market is SUV crazy and just about every Chinese car company has its own compact SUV model in the sub 100,000rmb, the Chery Tiggo has been the most popular so far but Geely, Brilliance, Guangzhou Auto and Dongfeng Auto are planning to launch their own compact SUV’s in the near future. Four renderings of future Chang’an crossovers have been leaked to the internet and show that Chang’an have some serious design skills.

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.

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Changan Auto is one of China’s sleeping auto giants with partnerships with Volvo, Ford, Mazda and PSA although in recent years its own self developed model range has expanded at a rapid rate from the lowly Ben Ben to entire model ranges. The new R&D center will be the first of its kind in the USA from a Chinese auto maker and will be part of Changan’s already expanding network which sees R&D centers based in Italy, UK and Japan. The US R&D center will be focused on assisting Changan with chassis development, performance development, CAD work and assistance with the manufacturing process research.

Changan’s also has a small assembly plant in Mexico which produces 50,000 cars per year but is expected to expand rapidly over the coming months.

Changan’s rise from a fairly small auto maker from the Chinese hinterlands to becoming a regular stealer of automotive media headlines is nothing short of miraculous, whilst the headlines have been focused on east coast car makers such as Chery, Geely, SAIC and Guangzhou Auto, Changan have amassed a global network of talent that is sure to be a wise investment in the next 5 to 10 years.

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.

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Chang-an's new V logo, left.

Chang’an Auto have become one of the great sleepers of the Chinese car industry, from no where they have become an automotive giant and regularly sell more of their own branded cars than they do their joint venture partners in Volvo, Ford and PSA. Now Chang’an are aiming for a big expansion in 2011 by first raising 4 billion RMB via a share sale which should net them around 600 million USD.

Chang’an Auto is China’s eighth biggest auto maker by market capitalisation, is planning to sell as many 465 million shares which equates to a 20% stake in the company at around 9.74rmb per share, Chang’an Auto is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Chang’an Auto initially started out as a small MPV maker – commonly known as ‘bread vans’ due to their shape, but has spread out into passenger vehicles and now has an impressive range of self developed vehicles. In late 2010 Chang’an unveiled its new logo at the Guangzhou Auto Show and its new range of cars. It is hoped that the new logo will help strengthen its image and put into a position where it is able to rival stronger rivals such as Chery, Geely or SAIC’s MG-Roewe brands.

Chang’an Auto are planning to use the money raised to expand production, upgrade its technology and put more resources into research.

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.

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The mini car is Chang-an’s vision for the future of inner city motoring and features a battery system that requires just 10 minutes to charge up should the owner have a fast charging battery system to hand. The car itself measures in at a tiny (LxWxH) 3.23m x 1.67 x 1.56. The car also features regenerative braking and an apparently high safety system – but Chang’an did not mention how high.

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.

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The Niu Jin Xing will be powered by a 1.3L engine and is priced from 45,900rmb to 55,900rmb depending on specification. It measures (LxWxH) 4.11 x 1.69 x 1.93 meters, meaning that is big enough to seat upto 9 people or carry a wide range of goods. The most interesting thing about this mini van is the golden bull logo, which embodies its Chinese name.

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.

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Mei Ren Yu Concept

At the Beijing Auto Show Chang-an had a concept car on show named Beautiful Fish (???????), despite its name it really was a good looking concept (pictured left). The Chinese press are already reffering to the below renderings as the Chinese Cruze and comparing the designs with the Chevrolet Cruze.

The pictures shown below are being referred to as the Z-2 which is likely to be an internal product code, although Chinese media are speculating that there might be a Z-1 or Z-3 in the pipelines as well.

The Z-2 is likely to be part of Chang-an’s plans to enter the luxury segment under its new logo and branding. Chang-an are also developing a second generation of engines for their range of cars which will make it into the below car alongside a 6 speed automatic gearbox.

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.

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The CX20 is expected to be another hit for the Chongqing based automaker who has continually been on a roll with its own brand of vehicles, making Chang’an the only state automaker that sells more self developed cars than joint venture built vehicles made with its partners.

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.

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Chang-an's new V logo, left.

Chang-an’s Chairman, Mr. Xu Liu Ping, has launched Chang-an’s latest new brand logo late yesterday and set out his plans for Chang-an’s future. Chang-an have ultimately been a silent player in the Chinese market over the past few years and have quickly become one of the biggest producers in the Chinese auto market.

Chang-an sold 1.71 million cars in the first nine months of the year, making it the fourth largest manufacturer in the Chinese market, by 2012 Mr. Xu is aiming for sales of 3 million vehicles, it’s Ben Ben and Yue Xiang and also its mini van range seem to be leading the way for Chang’an.

The new brand will be used on all of Chang-an’s sedans and also its soon to launch high end sedan series. Other Chinese automakers such as Chery, BYD and Geely have already launched their own high end sedans and brands, with cars that are priced in the 100,000rmb or higher segment which has so far been the preserve of joint venture brands, on the other hand joint venture companies such as Dongfeng-Nissan and Chang’an Ford are launching sub 80,000rmb vehicles which are picking up speed with economy buyers.

The current Chang’an logo on the right hand side of the picture will still be used for the time being on Chang-an’s range of mini vans and also its mini cars.

The new logo could be used on any of Chang-an’s and Ford’s new car range to take on the Indian market.

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.

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PSA will keep the JV seperate from its Peugeot and Citroen JV’s with Dongfeng automobile by producing MPV’s and SUV’s with Chang’an. Rumoured vehicles to go into production first are the Peugeot 5008 and Citroen C4 Picasso

Both parties are expected to set up a joint R&D center where PSA models will be developed specifically for the Chinese marketplace as per PSA’s announcement several months ago.

PSA controls 3.6% of the Chinese market place, but ten years from now they are aiming to control more than 10% of the market and have a max production capacity of 2 million vehicles per year, which may indicate that PSA are planning to export some of their produce to other markets.

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.

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Previously Chang’an took control of the Hafei and Changhe automotive brands and as a result Changhe’s-Suzuki joint venture, Chang’an also signed a deal with France’s PSA group to produce MPV’s in the Chinese market. Kinglong are also working on a car project alongside the automaker Wuling, as Kinglong is finding that the growth of the automobile is threatening its coach building business and thus wishes to join the automobile fray.

However, Chang’an already have a coach/bus building operation in the form of Sheng Li Coach builders in Hebei’s Ding Zhou city and is working to expand its line up to include cleaner vehicles, the addition of King Long to the Chang’an group might be a step too far for the already thinly stretched Chang’an.

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.

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This year Chang-An revealed its ‘2015 plan’ which will see Chang-An’s own vehicle range, including minivans and self developed car, achieve sales of 3.7 million sales per year, and by 2018 Chang-An are aiming for sales of 5.7 million cars, which will see its sales aims higher than SAIC, FAW, and Dongfeng.

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.

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The CX30 hatch measures (LxWxH) 4600 x 1800 x 1475mm, and has a wheelbase of 2650mm. On the power front, the CX30 carries a 1.6L engine (71kw, 140Nm of torque) and a 2.0L engine (112kw and 192Nm of torque), gearboxes will come in the form of 5 speed manuals and 4 speed autos.

The CX30′s eventual pricing has not yet been announced, but it is likely to be the 80,000rmb to 100,000rmb factor and will no doubt prove to be a popular model for Chang’an.

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.

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The CX30 was developed in partnership with Bosch automotive with the technology being fairly well developed with it being suited to stop-start driving conditions in the city center. The stop-start system in the CX30 is able to save around 6-8% fuel compared to a similar sized displacement engines, the emissions are also down 12% over a similar sized engine.

Chang’ans marketing manager Mr. Wang Jun Ri revealed that by 2012 the majority of Chang’an models will be be utilising soft hybrid systems such as the above CX30.

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.

Website - More Posts

Mazda Motor Corp., 11 percent owned by Ford Motor Co., plans to increase production capacity in China to meet growing demand in the world’s biggest car market.

“We need to expand current capacity when we look into next year and the year after,” Chief Financial Officer Kiyoshi Ozaki said in an interview yesterday in Tokyo. Ozaki declined to say by how much the company planned to boost output capacity.

Mazda may follow Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. in increasing its ability to make cars in China after the country passed the U.S. as the world’s largest auto market last year. Hiroshima-based Mazda aims to boost China sales 22 percent this year as economic growth spurs demand.

The carmaker has a venture in China with Ford and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., which operates two plants. Mazda also makes cars though its local partner FAW Car Co. In total, the Japanese automaker produced 173,788 vehicles in China last year.

Mazda aims to sell 220,000 vehicles in China this year, the company said in January. Third-quarter vehicle sales rose 68 percent in China last year.

Honda’s Chinese venture with Dongfeng Motor Group Co. said last month it will invest 1.15 billion yuan ($168 million) to build a second plant in the country, which will begin production in the second half of 2012.

Nissan is spending 5 billion yuan to expand a plant in Guangdong province to increase production to 600,000 vehicles annually from 430,000.

‘Pivotal’ Alliance

Mazda’s alliance with Ford will continue to be “pivotal,” Ozaki said yesterday. “Ford needs Mazda and we need Ford.” Still, Mazda is open to forming a partnership with other automakers for individual car development, Ozaki said.

Ford cut its stake in Mazda to 11 percent from 33 percent in 2008 as the Dearborn, Michigan-based carmaker sold shares to raise cash amid a credit crunch.

Mazda President Takashi Yamanouchi said earlier this month that the two companies reconfirmed their partnership when he met with Ford CEO Alan Mulally at the end of last year and the two are jointly developing a product.

Mark Fields, Ford’s president for the Americas, said on Dec. 3 that the U.S. carmaker intends to go it alone for future models after decades of developing vehicle platforms with the Japanese affiliate.

Mazda expects a net loss of 9 billion yen ($98 million) in the year ending March 31, compared with an earlier loss estimate of 17 billion yen.

‘Regrettable’ Recalls

The recall crisis affecting Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest carmaker, is “regrettable,” Ozaki said.

“It’s regrettable that Japanese cars are viewed with distrust,” Ozaki said. “Quality is a Japanese carmakers’ lifeline.”

Toyota is fixing more than 8 million vehicles globally for problems including unintended acceleration. It also faces an investigation into a possible steering flaw on the Corolla sedan, the world’s top-selling car.

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.

Website - More Posts