The WagonR is set to get stretched for the Chinese market in 2011, it appears that Changhe Suzuki have decided that the fun little box is no longer long enough to cope with consumers and plans to stretch its wheelbase to allow more rear leg room and also plan to offer larger engines including a 1.0L, a 1.2L and a 1.4L, and there will be a large sales push on the smaller 1.2L and 1.0L engines to rural buyers.
Changhe Suzuki recently launched the Suzuki E+, but by making it longer …

The Suzuki Splash is set to launch at the end of the year according to media reports and will be the eighth small car from Chang’an Suzuki in the Chinese marketplace.
Since Chang’an Motors took over the Changhe and Hafei auto companies from AVIC group, Chang’an was able to solidify its Suzuki joint venture and currently produces the best selling Suzuki Swift, Alto, Liana, WagonR, SX4, Landy MPV and the Ling Yang (mark2 Suzuki Swift sedan), the eighth addition to the line up of course being the Splash.
The Splash is expected …

Suzuki have had a big hit on their hands from day one when they launched the Suzuki Swift into China, the low cost mini car that has a lot of funk about it has been a best seller seller for a long time, initially only coming in 1.3L form but later came in 1.5L form, which then followed on with a variation of special editions which kept the Chinese motoring press chattering the Swift for quite some time. It’s not clear when the Swift will be replaced by a new …

Its not been a great week for the Japanese automakers, the biggest loser of course being Toyota, but now Suzuki are getting in on the action.
From Peoples Daily

China’s quality watchdog said Friday that Chongqing Chang’an Suzuki Automobile Co., a sino-Japanese joint venture, would recall 10,326 Alto vehicles due to gas filter problems on the Chinese mainland as of Feb. 5.
Oil leaks may occur due to gas filter faults caused by improper manufacturing techniques, and will post potential safety risks, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) …

Kei car fans in China needn’t wait much longer for another kei car fix, Suzuki have already launched the Suzuki Alto (and have an order book of 20,000 vehicles per month already) and will launch a new generation of Suzuki WagonR in the first quarter of 2010.
The WagonR is available in China with a 1.4L engine, making it perfect it for city life, according to Chinese media reports the 2010 model will have a longer wheelbase at 2360mm, making it 25mm longer than the current model.
Pricing or an …

Is it that Chang’an are not yet ready for North American, or is it that North Americans are not yet ready for Chang’an?
Reuters tells us like it is:
GUANGZHOU (Reuters) – Changan Automobile Group, China’s No. 3 automaker, said on Monday it had slowed down plans to set up a Mexican plant but remained committed to breaking into the North American market.
“We are still doing market research there. There won’t be any big investment for the time being,” Zhu Huarong, head of Changan’s research and development division, told Reuters.
“We have …

The Suzuki Kizashi is the first big Suzuki sedan to be built in China (unless of course you count the Suzuki Verona, which was the last generation Chevrolet Epica) and will be built by Chang’an-Suzuki sometime in 2010. A sports model oKizashi has been spotted out testing in China, and has proven to be a hit online:

The current sales tax for sub 1.6L cars has spurred on the development of powerful engines such as the VW 1.4TSI engine which gives car owners lower sales tax but all the power and punt of a larger engine. Sub 1.3L cars in China are few and far between, but Chang-an Suzuki are reportedly working on building a new range of 660CC Turbo powered engines which would take advantage of the 1% sales tax on sub 1.0L vehicles.
The upcoming 600CC Turbo engine could be finding its way into the …

The Suzuki Kizashi is Suzuki’s latest mid size sedan concept car, that is due to be put into production later this year for Western markets, but it appears that it may well be in production in the Middle Kingdom early next year:
It’s likely that the Suzuki Kizashi will be produced in cooperation with Chang’an Suzuki in South West China early next year complete with a 2.4l 4 cylinder engine.

Despite being a healthy, hetrosexual male, the soon to be pink Suzuki Swift is looking rather cute!

Obviously trying to be a hit with the ladies, the pink Swift will launch next month alongside a ‘cool black’ Swift.

The Swift has been a major hit for the Chang’an Suzuki group, and they continually launch new colors to keep sales up. Earlier this year, a chocolate Swift complete with a tan interior was launched . These two new colors will be available with 1.5 engines. The warranty has also been raised to …

The Citroen ZX has been in production for as long as CCT can remember, although it did go out of production in 1998 in Europe according to Wikipedia, although it continued to be produced until now in China. The Dongfeng Elysee was produced after the ZX was introduced to give the PRC a small sedan to go along the ZX, although it was previously said that the ZX would be replaced eventually by a Elysee hatchback, but the below spy pictures seem to show an updated Citroen front end and …

The Suzuki Alto was one of the first affordable kei cars (or Wei Cars) to hit the Chinese roads, the first generation of Alto was introduced quite early, and silently ended production in July this year due to falling sales. The Alto initially sold very well in the Chinese market place, but sales growth was quickly stunted in the east of China, but continued to grow in inland cities.
Chang’an Suzuki have an inventory of 5000 Alto’s on hand which will be sold by the end of the year, and furthermore, …

CCT has a very large soft spot for the Suzuki Swift, it maybe getting on a bit in its current guise, but we’d still buy one if we had the spare cash, and perhaps somewhere to park it. The Chinese Swift went from being a mere 1.3l to a 1.5l offering, and now a further upgrade has been made.

The model shown above is actually a limited edition model, with some slight alterations such as the addition of the spoiler, and a limited edition logo. We think the …

Suzuki are the kings of revamping their motors to give them an extra bit of shelf time on the market. Previously they upped the excellent Swift from a 1.3l to a 1.5l, and now the SX4 is getting the same treatment, from a 1.6 to a 1.8l model.
The 1.8l is part of a special edition SX4 that will only run for a certain amount of time. The exterior of the SX4 has pretty much continued with the same lines, however, the grill has been updated slightly which gives it a …

The SX4 is one of the more popular small crossovers on sale in China. The latest model has been slightly updated for 2008, the updates are quite tasteful and really enchance the looks of the car.
 
The exterior has been given new silver door handles, as well as nicer roof bars. The interior sees the most dramatic change, with the SX4 getting cool new twin tone seats.

Chang’an Suzuki make some great little cars, currently limited to the SX4 and the Swift, but we do like their abilities to re-invent the same car and keep it on sale no matter what! Truly ingenious!
Swift:
The Suzuki Swift has been on the market in China for roughly 4 years, in that time the engine has been increased from a 1.3 to a 1.5, various sports editions (note: two tone paint job) and now a summer special edition. The summer special edition is a 1.5l engined model, the Chinese motoring press …

Chang’an have been making Bread Vans – aka Suzuki Carry style vehicles for ages now, they even managed to sell one million of the same model. Now it seems Chang’an are planning on making a larger MPV aimed at the business users.
 

It seems Chang’an may well be working with their partner, Suzuki, to bring the Japanese designed, but Indonesian built, Suzuki APV mini van to China.

The Suzuki Swift has been popular the world over, especially in China and India where low labor costs have made the Swift one of the cheapest cars on the market, is also a damned good looking car in its price range, when compared to the other competitors. Developing lands have always been favorable to sedans, China has the Tiida (versa) sedan, and the Fiesta Sedan, so will we get the Suzuki Swift sedan? We certainly hope not!
Click the above picture for a bigger version.

China Car Times always wanted a Suzuki Swift for himself, but unforunatly the 1.3 engine is a tad (very) puny for our long distance driving needs, however, Changan Suzuki have finally seen the terrible error they have made and have started to put 1.5 engines into the Swift. 1.3l engines are great for inner city travel but arent so great for doing repeated airport runs (a 100km trip for us) Its closest rival, the Honda Fit has a 1.5l engine and seems to outsell the Swift. Hopefully the Swift can …

The Wagon R has been out for donkeys years, and its getting a bit long in the tooth – even in China where the first generation WagonR sells a lot but is starting to lose ground to more funkier looking designs (We’re thinking of the new Chevrolet range here)
Rumors are starting to circulate that Chang’an Changhe Suzuki are getting ready to make the newer, more up to date version of the Suzuki WagonR to increase sales in China. We hope its true, the new generation WagonR looks quite good (pictured, …

The Suzuki SX4, some kind of cross between a Suzuki Vitari and a Suzuki Swift, will have its pricing announced at the Shanghai Auto Show later this month. The SX4 sales in North America are going through the roof, probably due to its its low price $14,999 for a 142bhp 4×4 model complete with power door locks, power windows, power mirrors etc. Quite a bargain if you were to ask China Car Times.

Get ready for Landy! No, thats not the name of some hippy from the 60′s its Suzukis new MPV for the Chinese market.

This month will see its debut on the Chinese market, aimed at families who joint combined incomes is around 100,000rmb per year. A great car no doubt for Chinese families who want to take out both sets of in laws plus their kid. Those seats must come in great use, but imagine trying to turn a corner in the Landy at speed, it seems too be too high …

Check out more photos here

Check out this Chinese TV commercial for Zhong Hua, via Youtube, here’s another.
Have to say, Zhong Hua’s cars are looking great – it must be the BMW input!