Review Category : Spy Shots

JMC’s Qu Sheng Gets Major Early Life Overhaul

When JMC’s Qu Sheng SUV first launched it looked a little rough around the edges especially on the interior, JMC initially launched the vehicle with the option of 5 or 7 seats with 2.4L gasoline or 2.5T diesel engines mated to a 5 speed manual only. The next model will include…

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Buick Lacrosse Facelift Spy Shots: More Grill, More Black

The Buick Lacrosse has been a hit on the Chinese market, business users and personal users have taken to the cars oversized bulk with much glee making it a regular sight on Chinese roads. The Lacrosse hit the perfect price segment with the launch of the current generation, Chinese consumers love the idea of a ‘Da Qi‘ car that is able to command…

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VW Sagitar GLI Readying for China

The pu-tong (regular) Sagitar has been on the market for a few months already and seems to be holding its ground in the sales figures as per usual for a VW vehicle in the PRC. Powered by the choice of 1.6L or 1.4TSI engines mated to DSI or manual transmissions the new Sagitar is a regular sight on Chinese roads, alongside the current Golf which…

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BYD’s Qin Hybrid Spied – 316BHP and 440Nm of Torque

The BYD Qin Hybrid is an entirely new hybrid from the makers of the original BYD F3 DM, the Qin was aired in concept form at the Beijing Auto Show in April where it was well received by media and consumers, however the real focus of that auto show was on the Su Rui sedan, the donor vehicle for the Qin’s electric hybrid engine. The F3DM was criticized…

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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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First Audi Q3 Rolls Down Production Line at FAW-VW Plant in Foshan

Volkswagen’s plan to capture the Southern Chinese market where Japanese brands rule the roost took a step forward earlier today when the first Audi Q3 came off the Foshan production lines.

The Audi Q3 is currently imported into China from Europe and is nearly on par with the Audi Q5 in terms of pricing thanks to import taxes which boost…

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Chang’an-Citroen’s DS5 Road Testing in China

The new joint venture between Chang-an Auto and Citroen (CAPSA) is quite possibly one of the more exciting ones in China, rather than producing the usual three box sedans that Chinese consumers were once so fond of, CAPSA are eager to bring in their flagship DS5.

The DS5 is already sold in China but the DS dealer network is spotty at best, the DS3,…

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Haima’s New Sedan Looks Well Polished Ahead of Launch

Earlier this year at the Beijing Auto Show Haima showed off a concept named ‘Yao’, after months of seeing the ‘Yao’ road testing around China getting acclimatized to different weather conditions we can say the car is ready to hit the production lines. A pre-production model was recently spotted outside a hotel in…

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Last Gen Mazda 3 Becomes the Changa CINTURX

The Chinese market has some howler brand names, we can point at Roewe, Besturn, Venucia, Ciimo, Everus and now we can welcome CINTURX to the party.

Ford and Mazda produce a wide range of vehicles with Chang’an, but with increased attention on the Chinese market by both companies has lead to greater technology cooperation between the three way tie…

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Beijing C70G to Launch in December, Three Engines on Offer Including 250BHP 2.3Turbo

Saab maybe an entry in the automotive history book but the brand sort of lives on in Beijing, when Beijing Auto bought the rights to the last generation 93 and 95 as well as the engines.

Although the C70G is based on Saab architecture it looks nothing like a Saab, its side has more of a BMW Bangle wrinkle

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VW Jetta GLI Readying for Production

FAW-VW’s GLI has been spied plenty of times in China, but is it any nearer production? The Chinese media seem to think it is on the verge of rolling down the Jetta production line complete with indpendent rear suspension and of course the much required 2.0T engine that is shared with the Golf GTI, which FAW-VW also make.

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Acura NSX Prepping for China Launch

Ironman was a popular flick in the People’s Republic, and with all popular automotive slanted flicks that air in China the cars are ultimately the star, just ask GM about the halo effect of Bumblebee. Ironman’s then concept Acura NSX is going to be turned into a production car at the Detroit Auto Show in January and should be on the market in China…

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Roewe E50 to see Production Line on November 2nd

SAIC’s first mass produced electric vehicle will be seeing production lines on November 2nd and should be on the market in early 2013 according to media reports.

The E50 has been aired at several different auto shows to date and will likely have a real launch at this years Guangzhou Auto Show. Small changes have been made to the exterior…

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Besturn SUV Reveals its Face

FAW’s Besturn brand suddenly burst into life with the creation of the Besturn B50 in 2008, before that they created the B70 and recently the B80 midsize sedan, all of which use the Mazda 6 platform. FAW are hoping that Besturn can become a major player in the Chinese auto industry, but the brands late arrival when compared to Roewe and MG, has left…

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JAC’s New Compact Sedan Sighted

Whilst other manufacturers such as Geely and Chery have been on the warpath with a multitude of models, JAC seems to have got the recipie right from the get go, they did not start making cheap vehicles, they started making good vehicles which have slowly morphed into good vehicles. The aesthetic demands from Chinese consumers is greater than ever, whilst…

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Qoros Still Road Testing, Still Set For March Launch

Qoros are still on with their plans to become a major player in the auto industry, the Israeli-Chinese JV are still on track with their plans to launch their first model in March next year. The company has set up its HQ in downtown Shanghai and also has a joint production facility in Changshu, 100km from Shanghai, in partnership with Chery.

The…

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Daihatsu Back to China? Spy Shots Say Maybe Yes

Daihatsu is one of those car manufacturers that made massive early gains in the Chinese market only to proverbially piss it all into the wind just as the market began to really open. The Japanese company played upon early warm relations between Japan and China when Japan was all about investing its new found wealth into its former colony, Daihatsu hit…

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Next Generation Land Rover DC100 Pops Up Via the Chinese Patent Office

Jaguar Land Rover have big plans for China thanks to their new JV with Chery, the Indian owned British company has had a fantastic record in the past four years of making cars that consumers actually want rather than making cars that it thinks the consumer wants, we only have to look at the success of the Jaguar XF, XJ and Range Rover Evoque in the…

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Ford Fiesta Saloon Gains Aston Style Grill

The US market Ford Fusion has already been aired in the states, the Chinese version has not yet been officially aired but we have seen it plenty of times out testing and we do enjoy its thinking mans Aston Martin looks, we’re quite sure it will shake up the market when it does arrive in the PRC in early 2013. The Ford Fiesta is likely to be…

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Haima’s ZM2 Starts to Look Like a Car Ready For Market

Haima are readying their latest car, the ZM2, for production. The compact sedan has been undergoing testing for the past few years and has already seen airings at the Shanghai Auto Show in concept form under the V30 name.

Power for the above ZM2 is to come from Haima’s own self developed 1.5L VVT engine which…

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The 2013 QQ gets Naked

The QQ is China’s answer to the original mini, to the Beetle and all those other cult classic cars. The QQ ushered in the Chinese automotive era and all that it stood for in the early days, which was mostly cloned cars, the QQ kick started the cloning days with the introduction of a car that looked exactly like the Daewoo Matiz/Chevrolet Spark but cost…

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Chang-an’s New Minivan Shows Interesting Side

Strange things are afoot at Chang-an Autos, the company seems to be rapidly building cars that are able to take on the established automotive players with interesting designs and also some interesting tech. The recently launched Eado was aired at the Frankfurt Auto Show before it was aired at the Beijing Auto Show in April this year, the Eado came packed…

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Toyota IQ Spied in China

The Toyota IQ has been spotted on Chinese roads. The sighting has led Chinese automotive media to speculate that Toyota maybe pushing for the IQ to be made or sold in China at some point, as Toyota has made considerable claims regarding its plan to sell hybrids and pure EV’s in the Chinese market. The Shanghai Auto Show in 2011 played host to the first…

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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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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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Peugeot 3008 Readying For China

The Peugot 3008 is on its way to China, technically it’s already been here for a while but it was an imported model and thus priced way beyond its competitors, now the refreshed model is preparing itself for Chinese production lines. The crossover model will be produced via the Dongfeng-Peugeot joint venture and should hit the market at the end of the…

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China Market Kia K3 Has Subtle Differences With Overseas Models

The Chinese market is under going a round of ‘Chinese-ification’ ahead of its launch later this year, the K3 is expected to be Kia’s answer to the Buick Excelle/Verano in the Chinese market and should bring Kia some much needed competition in the compact sedan segment which so far seems to be controlled by the VW Sagitar and the Ford Focus. The most…

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2013 BMW 760Li Sighted in China

BMW’s 7 Series has been a big hit in the Chinese market, without actual statistics to hand I will have to rely on my own observations: I can safely say that the 7 series is quite popular but most of the models seem to be the 730, sometimes I’ll see a 740 but the flagship 760Li remains as rare as hens teeth.

BMW…

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Beijing Auto’s New Mini SUV Outside

After decades of producing dusty old Soviet Jeeps and trucks Beijing Auto have finally gotten into the swing of making new cars. Their recent purchase of Saab platforms seems to have reignited the car design ignition within the company that has led to some rather nice cars emerging, take the C70 for example. This new mini SUV from Beijing Auto seems…

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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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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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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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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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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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MG5 1.5T Spotted Again

The MG5 has already been released with a 1.5L engine but the Chinese media rightfully slated it for being a little too slow off the mark when compared to its more powerful rivals. The power issues might be solved with the introduction of the 1.5T engine, this little unit has 135BHP on tap and 200Nm of torque, more than enough to spin the wheels at the…

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Citroen C4L Appears on Radar

The Citroen C4 became the C-Quatre in the Chinese market due to the Chinese aversion to the number 4 which sounds a lot like the word for death – not that it stopped Suzuki from launching the SX4 or Audi the A4L. Now PSA are actually taking the Chinese market seriously, they have once again focused their attention on building cars that Chinese consumers…

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Next Generation Note/Livina Enters the Chinese Patent Office

The Nissan Note was only just announced in late July, but that hasn’t delayed Nissan in putting the mini car through the Chinese patent office, which spits them out online as soon as they are entered. The last generation Note became the Livina for the Chinese and other developing world markets, the Livina may not have been much of a looker but it offered…

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Beijing Auto’s SC20 SUV Shows Its Sides

Beijing Auto produced a few SUV’s before the Saab based vehicles hit the production lines, the oddly named 007 was no looker from any angles but the SC20 might just fix that. When the 007 came out perhaps Beijing Auto thought they had the market for large SUV’s for low prices cornered, but the BYD S6 took the market by storm and Beijing Auto’s spotty…

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Are Toyota preparing a Super Yaris for the Chinese market? Chinese Patent Office Seems to Think So

The Chinese Patent Office often gives away secrets that wouldn’t otherwise be known until an auto show swings into town. This time PO has given up drawings of what is thought to be a three door Toyota Yaris, or what the Chinese media are calling a ‘Super Yaris’ In fact this Yaris is very much on par with the WRC version or B-Spec models that used in…

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Want an Escalade Truck? Dont have the $$$? Want a Four Cylinder? Come to China.

Shanxi Victory Group are a new company to us, but they’ve shot straight into the limelight with the release of their new Escalade truck. My old neighbor used to have an Escalade truck, the sweet sound of the V8 ripping along the narrow apartment complex roads were simply fantastic, but it seems that this Victory Escalade wont be pumping out much of…

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Qoros Compact Sedan Testing on Chinese Tarmac

Qoros, the Chinese-Israeli project to make mid to high end range cars for Chinese, Euro and North American roads, is gaining traction with its plans to launch its first model at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2013. The brand has been working tirelessly to develop its own production facilities in Changshu, near Shanghai, and to bring its own design…

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Changfeng-Mitsubishi Gets To Work on ASX

Mitsubishi are in a bit of a muddle, along with Suzuki their global sales have slightly tanked but Mitsubishi’s engine business is basically running the Chinese car industry and Suzuki’s long fingers in the Indian market mean that they are both making plenty of cash in certain areas. In the Chinese market Mitsubishi have recently signed up with Guangzhou…

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Golf GTI Soft Top Arrives in China

The Golf GTI is a slow but steady seller for VW in China, the ‘cannon ball’ (as hot hatches are referred to by the Chinese press) is made locally via the FAW-VW tie up in Changchun.  The VW Group recently added the 1.4TSI Cabriolet to the imported lined up and are currently planning to bring the GTI version to the China market as well. Sales of the…

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Next Generation VW Santana Enters Test Production Stage – Spy Shots

The VW Generation is to Chinese as to what the Ford Crown Victoria was to North Americans, a car that was seen basically everywhere from private owners to taxi fleets to cop cars. Sadly, the Crown Vic is out of production and the Santana will be joining it shortly, however the Santana nameplate hasn’t quite been killed off as it will be coming back…

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Citroen C4L Road Testing, to see Production at Years End

A few months back I was sitting in a bar and starting up casual conversation with the Frenchmen next to me, being a friendly sort I asked him where he worked, PSA was the answer. He was an engineer. I told him the Citroen C5 was the classiest sedan on Chinese roads (this was early 2012, before the Kia K5 launched) but he went on a tirade about how it…

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Another Small Car From Chery – The Chery E2

Chery thinks it needs a small car, despite having six small cars under the Chery name and a further two under the Riich name the Anhui based Chery has plans for another new car, apparently named ‘E2′ and will sit under the Chery logo. The E2 has been spotted out testing in the vicinity of Wuhu and looks to be a smaller version of the Chery A3 hatchback…

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Jetta NF Out Testing Yet Again

VW’s love for compact cars is on par with the Chinese love for rice, the German company has already produced the Polo sedan and has the last gen Jetta and Santana on the market as well as the Lavida and Bora, but that is not enough to satisfy Chinese demand so VW are planning to introduce the Skoda Rapid, Jetta NF, and Santana NF all at the same time….

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Ford Fiesta to gain 1.0T engine and Powershift Gearbox

The Ford Fiesta has been a popular model for Ford, the Fiesta represented a change of direction for Ford China and showed that the company was serious about its small car range in the PRC. The previous Fiesta came in a saloon only mode and was a dumpy, small vehicle that hardly impressed, the current Fiesta changed everything thanks to its sporty appearance…

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