Those CCT readers that are blessed by living close to the equator will be shocked to hear that the northern hemisphere is exceedingly cold this year with lots of snow in the USA, northern Europe and most of all China. The mercury has dropped to -35 degrees centigrade in parts of North Eastern China, Beijing seems to be struggling under a blanket of snow, and the rest of Northern China is cold enough to store your beer bottles by the front door.
Reuters tells us more:
Beijing authorities shut schools, mobilized …

2010 is CCT’s third year online, and probably going to be the best one yet, we hope that everyone enjoyed their holidays and the plentiful amounts of snow that fell on Northern China during the past two weeks.
January 1st to the 3rd was a national holiday in China, did any CCT readers undertake any roadtrips in China during that time?! Lets hear all about them via the comment box!
Happy New Year!

Will Riley, a business man and petrol head decided he would make his own MG’s complete with the MG logo and branding seperately from Nanjing MG has apparently been arrested:
Will Riley boasted less than two years ago how he had a raft of orders for powerful MG X Power coupés after acquiring the rights to the marque after the collapse of Longbridge.
He promised that he would soon be employing 200 workers after ploughing more than £3 million into his vision to make 200mph super cars in the Midlands.
But Mr Riley’s …

SAIC wheeled out their Roewe 750 hybrid sedan way back in November 2006, and until then we have not seen hide nor hair of the good looking gentlemen’s hybrid since then.
Now it appears that SAIC are getting closer to putting a hybrid heart into the 750, and it will see production early next year according to our sources.
Specific specifications for the 750 have not yet been released but SAIC have apparently put together 15 hybrid test cars. The Roewe 550 pure electric and hybrid versions have just completed their planning …

More disabled drivers will be able to take to the roads in the next few years as China relaxes the laws on disabled motorists according to Xinhua:
China’s Ministry of Public Security recently issued an amendment to driving license rules, giving more disabled people the rights to sit behind the wheel.
Those with disabled right leg or both legs but able to sit up independently are allowed to drive small-sized automatic transmission cars which are specially designed for them, according to the new rules which will take effect on April 1.
The present …

Well, at least the Western parts:
From the China Daily:
URUMQI, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) — More people preferred to carpool amid cold weather and continuous snow in Urumqi, capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Li Mei, an office worker who lives 10 kilometers from her office, joined a carpooling group she found on the Internet. She gets a phone call at 7:50 p.m. every day from a carpool partner reminding her the time to go home.
Li said: “It is too cold to …

Hyundai have been making massive inroads into the Chinese market in the past 12 months, they’ve revamped their car line up from being rather stale and dry to becoming one of the most sought after brands in China. It seems that they are having similar plans for the trucking industry with the start of a new JV with Baotou Bei Ben:
From Reuters:
Hyundai Motor Co said on Sunday it had signed an initial agreement to create a commercial vehicle joint venture with China’s Baotou Bei Ben Heavy-Duty Truck Co Ltd with …

With the Roewe 350 about to launch on the tails of the MG6 (which coincidently launches tomorrow), MG will get its own version of the Roewe 350 which has been codenamed MG ZP11 and is likely to be the MG5, or even 3.
2010 is set to be a big year for MG and Roewe with SAIC planning to launch the Roewe 350 in around March, plus a facelift MG3 SW will make an appearence in the middle of 2010 alongside a facelift Roewe 750, as well as the Roewe …

Previously it was reported that SAIC and BYD would team up in China to put batteries in SAIC’s future hybrid vehicles, but now it seems that SAIC have turned to A123 to make their motors turn in a new range of public use vehicles:
From Reuters:
SAN FRANCISCO/HONG KONG, Dec 17 (Reuters) – Lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems Inc (AONE.O) said on Thursday it is forming a joint venture with China’s top carmaker SAIC Motor Corp (600104.SS) to sell battery systems for electric vehicles in the world’s largest automotive market.
A123’s …

Are we going to start to see a squeeze on JV vehicles in the future:
SHANGHAI, Dec 16 (Reuters) – China wants half of passenger cars, including sport utility vehicles, sold to be self-developed by 2015, state media said on Wednesday, up from 44 percent now, as part of a push to build up its own auto industry.
Chinese automaker’s own-brand sedans should account for a 40 percent share of the market, according to revised guidelines for the auto industry, the Shanghai Securities News said, citing unamed sources.
Sales of SAIC Motor …

In a recent interview between auto.sohu and Chery chairman Mr. Yin Tong Yue, Mr Yi expressed that Chery are still resolute on their plans to go it alone and wont sign any JV’s with foreign manufacturers. The interview is very interesting as it gives more information on what goes on behind the scenes at Chery Automobile, and how the company strong man takes on ideas and uses them within the company he has been tasked to manage.
The interview managed to grab headline news across international news sites yesterday, but there …

BYD are planning to launch yet another sedan in its sedan dominated line up. The latest sedan is expected to be the below L3, which will be positioned between the F3 and G3 sedans.
How exactly this will differ from the F3 other than exterior styling is yet to be known, the L3 will carry the same 1.5L and 1.8L powerplants, and will have a similar interior to the F3.

According to The WallStreet Journal (subscription only), Smart are planning to launch an electric Smart fortwo model here in China:
BEIJING — Daimler AG plans to start a pilot program for an electric version of its Smart minicar in China next year, joining a growing list of firms evaluating the potential for next-generation clean-energy vehicles in the world’s biggest automobile market.
Daimler is currently considering which cities to test the cars in, said Ulrich Walker, chairman of Daimler Northeast Asia, in a year-end briefing with reporters. “We have to see the …

Everyone is downbeat about the worlds automotive underdog, naysayers have been saying for years that eventually GM will go bankrupt. In 2008 and 2009, it did for a time look like GM was facing a very bleak future even GM’s most ardent supporters were about ready to throw in the towel and admit that GM was basically done for. The story is well known; GM persuaded the American Government to bail them out, perhaps they did all the persuasion in the back of a 3.0L V6 Buick Lacrosse, otherwise known …

According to Cai Xun Finance newspaper, Suzuki Motors is planning to start producing motorbikes in China in the second half of 2010, and plan to produce around 500,000 motorbikes per year in China.
Suzuki spokesman Takuma Mizuyoshi was quoted as saying that Suzuki are planning to produce new enviromentally friendly small displacement motorbikes in China.
Previously Suzuki had a JV with Jinan’s Qingqi group to produce motorbikes in China, it is unknown if that JV is still in operation, or if Suzuki plan to work with a different partner.
Gasgoo …

Jaguar, the British premium car maker, are planning on restructuring their China sales network over 2010 following the successful launch of their all new Jaguar XJ sedan in Guangzhou this week.
Jaguars chief executive in China Mr. Wang Li Rui told journalists at the Guangzhou Auto Show that Jaguar China plans to change its current sales network set up in China, and also of Jaguars plans to expand investment in China, which will include an indpendent China sales company. China is expected to become Jaguars largest market in the next …

From The Shanghai Daily:
COMING someday to a roadside police stop near you — a cap that can tell cops whether you’re too drunk or too tired to drive by reading your brain waves.
The headwear sounds like science fiction, but it’s being developed by scientists at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
They’re working on an invention to gauge drivers’ alertness — the ability to make rapid responses — by using sensors to analyze what’s going on in their heads.
The research, revealed at the Microsoft Research Asia Symposium yesterday, was welcomed by traffic police, …

Dongfeng launched their new hatchback model to sit by its sedan brother earlier today, the H30 is the third Dongfeng self designed vehicle.
The H30 measures (LxWxH) 4268mm x 1740 x 1482, and has a wheelbase of 2610mm.
Engine power will be delivered by a 1.6L engine, and gears come in the form of a 5 speed manual and a ASIN sourced 4 speed automatic box.