The road testing sedan has been sighted once before but the hatch shown below, doesn’t look overly different to the concept sedan which was unveiled at the Taipei Auto Show in late 2011. The Luxgen5 will be similar to the Luxgen7 in terms of technology, which basically means it will be packed full of HTC developed goodness and will included a large sized control screen in the center of the cars dashboard.

A 1.8T and 2.0T will be installed the 5 when it hits the market, neither are hugely powerful machines with the 1.8T developing just 150bhp and the 2.0T with just 170bhp, the 1.8T will get a 5 speed auto whilst the 2.0T gets a six speed. Pricing is expected to be cheaper than the MG6, with Chinese automotive media throwing out guesstimates of a 130,000rmb base price rising to just over 185,000rmb.

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 Luxgen MPV seems to tick all the boxes when it comes to MPV design, “first of all – does it look like a box?” yes – tick one off “Does it have seven seats?” yes – tick one off. Under the hood, the same 2.0T delivering 160 plus ponies to the front wheels will be found in the M7 as the SUV and also future sedan.

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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Asia’s latest auto brand, Luxgen, showed off its latest Luxgen5 sedan earlier this week just months after launching the popular Luxgen7 SUV. The Luxgen brand was developed by Yulong Motors, Taiwan’s biggest automotive company, Yulong and Dongfeng from the Chinese mainland established a joint venture in China which has already resulted in the Luxgen7 being produced in Hangzhou, China.

Luxgen are growing a name for themselves in China and Taiwan owing to the large amounts of high technology that they put into their models, the 5 is no exception as Luxgen have partnered with mobile phone manufacturer HTC to make sure the 5 is always connected to the internet via a 9inch Android powered console in the center of the car

The 5 sedan will come with two engine options, a 1.8T and also a 2.0T offering. The base 1.8T is good for 150bhp and is mated to a 5 speed automatic, but the 2.0T produces an extra 20hp with 170bhp on tap and also a six speed intelligent gearbox.

Taipei 2012 Auto Show will see the official launch of Luxgen’s new motors, although they will likely be introduced into China in rapid time. Luxgen is still in its infancy in China, although early sales of 1,653 of the Luxgen7 in December alone are likely to boost the company’s confidence in China 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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Under the hood the A60 carries the same Nissan 2.0L from the A60 and also the same CVT gearbox, a 1.6L with a manual gearbox will likely follow afterwards.

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 A60 was unveiled in concept form at the Shanghai Auto Show earlier this year, at the time it was not known that Dongfeng would be using Nissan architecture to underpin their new cars. The A60 only has minor changes to its exterior for its Dongfeng Guise, the over sized headlamps do not do much to hide the cars origins. The A60 is expected to launch with a 1.8L but could launch a 1.6L later in the 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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Its Luxgen 7 mid-sized sport utility vehicle is now offered for presale at prices ranging from 190,000 to 270,000 yuan. The model will formally hit the market in two months, the company said.

Hubei-based Dongfeng Motor Corp and Taiwan’s largest carmaker Yulon Motor Co formed the partnership in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province at the end of last year with each holding a 50 percent stake.

The joint venture says the first model from the new mainland brand has a rich array of intelligent equipment usually found only on premium cars including 360-degree surround imaging, a night view assist system, a side view assist system and lane support warning system.

Paired with a five-speed automatic transmission, the Luxgen’s 2.2-liter turbocharged engine can produce peak power of 131 kW and top torque of 275 Nm.

The model will mainly compete with SUVs made at Sino-foreign joint ventures, including the Highlander by Guangqi Toyota and the upcoming Dongfeng Nissan Murano, said market observers.

But because of a weaker brand image than its Japanese, German and US counterparts, market prospects for the brand remain uncertain, they added.

Although Yulon’s Luxgen models sell well in Taiwan, the mainland market – with more than 30 SUV models now on offer – has much fiercer competition, said Zhu Ming, a senior automotive analyst of JD Power.

As well, mainland SUV buyers have keen awareness of brand image, so a new and unproven brand like Luxgen may not meet their requirements at the very beginning, Zhu said.

But the market’s potential is huge and appealing, analysts said.

China’s overall passenger vehicle market grew 5.75 percent to 7.1 million units in the first half this year, according to statistics from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The SUV segment registered an even faster pace, increasing 21 percent to more than 710,000 units in the first six months this year, the association said.

Dongfeng Yulon says it plans to launch one or two new models every year over the next five years, including multi-purpose vehicles, sedans and electric cars.

Zhou Wenjie, chairman of the joint venture, said the company’s mid-term target is to sell of 200,000 vehicles annually and generate revenue of 25 billion yuan in 2015.

The Luxgen 7 will be distributed at the joint venture’s newly established dealer network across the country, which will have about 80 showrooms by the end of this year.

The company claimed that it will bring a whole new approach to selling cars in China featuring a high-tech and interactive customer experience different from an ordinary outlet.

A special zone in every showroom will have video screens ringing the car that will enable customers to try various functions as the screen simulates a real driving environment.

The first Dongfeng Yulon showroom will open in Hangzhou later this month, the company said.

Jia Xinguang, an independent automotive analyst, said that Taiwanese companies traditionally provide good services, which could be an advantage for Luxgen’s development in the mainland market.

He noted that the most important task for Luxgen is to build its brand strength, but “it needs some time”.

Kuo-Rong Chen, vice-chairman of Dongfeng Yulon, said that Luxgen in Taiwan has caught up with Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda in brand recognition.

The price of a Luxgen on the used car market in Taiwan even exceeds Honda models in the same segment, he said, noting that it is a result of the company’s clear and consistent pricing strategy.

Luxgen in Taiwan has a unified price that helps defend its brand value, Chen said, adding that the joint venture will apply the same strategy on the mainland.

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 Luxgen SUV has already debuted at the Shanghai Auto Show where it was well received by press and consumers alike, the Luxgen SUV measures in at 4800 x 1930 x 1760mm (LxWxH) and could be compared wit the Toyota Highlander in terms of size. Pricing is expected to be from 250,000rmb for the 2.2 petrol turbo unit which was designed by Yulong themselves.

Although Luxgen is a one car brand at the moment, the Taiwanese company is looking to rapidly expand its line up with the addition of new models very soon with Dongfeng’s assistance.

Ash

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The Neora is a pure electric sedan with ‘electricity’ being at the core of its concepts, more information is not available as of yet, nor are Luxgen’s Shanghai Auto Show launch plans, but we will have to wait and see.

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 Dongfeng Crossover has been codenamed the B20 within Dongfeng and its eventual name is still unknown, it seems to be based on the Dongfeng Joyear MPV but with more SUV styling. Power is also unknown, for the Joyear Dongfeng found no love with the 1.8T version from SAIC but did find great success with the 1.5L engine taken from Mitsubishi’s stables. A larger 1.6L could be used for this model, but even that is unlikely to propel the larger than it looks B20 to a suitable speed within a suitable time frame. We do know that it will be packing an AWD drive train, so perhaps that 1.8T will be back in business.

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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Honda Motor Co (7267.T) said on Friday it would target sales in China of 730,000 units in 2011, for growth of more than 10 percent from the 650,000 estimated for this year.

“We expect the overall (Chinese) market to grow by an average 10 percent,” Seiji Kuraishi, head of Honda’s China operations, told reporters in Tokyo. “We will aim for a growth of more than 10 percent, of around 730,000 units.”

Honda operates 50-50 joint ventures with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co (2238.HK) and Dongfeng Motor Group (0489.HK), as well as a majority-owned factory building the Fit/Jazz subcompact model for exports to Europe.

Honda’s production capacity in China is set to rise to 890,000 cars a year in 2013.

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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Luxgen's future sedan

Taiwan’s Yulong Auto and Dongfeng Automotive recently signed an agreement to set up production and sales of Yulong’s new luxury brand, Luxgen, in China. The first vehicle to be produced will be the Luxgen SUV which is likely to see production in China during 2011 and will be powered by a 2.2T engine that Yulong developed themselves.

The sedan (left) is expected to be a Roewe 550 fighter and will have similar proportions to hit that sweet spot with Chinese consumers and is expected to see production in 2011 according to media reports. Other Chinese websites have concept renderings of the car which make it similar to the Honda Civic sedan in terms of front and rear styling, although with Luxgen’s imprint on the car you can guarantee that it won’t be a copy but will have some distinctive styling. The Luxgen brand is trading upon its luxury and technological abilities, and as such each model is expected to be both luxurious and packed full of modern technology that is found in cars that are priced several times higher. The Luxgen SUV will probably launch in the middle of 2011, whilst this sedan is expected before the end of the 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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On the power train side of things, it is believed that Dongfeng are developing the engine themselves, whilst the gearbox will be supplied by Japan’s Asin.

Other information on the SUV is unavailable but we will keep CCT readers updated.

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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Luxgen and Dongfeng sign deal

Earlier today in Beijing, the Chairman of Dongfeng Auto Group Mr. Xu Ping He and Yulong Auto’s Mr. Yan Kai Tai announced the creation of a new partnership that will see Yulong’s Luxgen motors being produced in China. In front of 300 selected guests and VIP’s, Mr. Xu and Mr. Yan announced that the Luxgen brand, originally a Taiwanese branded vehicles that was self developed by Yulong Motor, will be produced in Hangzhou.

Dongfeng Auto are expected to invest 775 million RMB into the partnership, which will see it being a fifty-fifty joint venture run the by the pair. The first Luxgen plant will be based in Hangzhou’s Xiaoshan Industry park and has a wide mandate to produce passenger vehicles including MPV’s, SUV’s, sedans and also pure electric vehicles. Dongfeng will be assisting Yulong with the development of the Luxgen brand for the Chinese market, although it is unclear how far this will go. The first Luxgen model is expected to be produced in July but a launch will happen towards the end of 2011 and will be sold under the Luxgen moniker, although it will be called Na Zhi Zhen in Chinese.

The Taiwanese-Chinese partnership is expected to promote further reunification between the two, which have been separated since the Nationalist government of China fled the mainland in 1949 and set up base camp in Taiwan, however in recent years the Taiwanese and Chinese government have relaxed their stance towards one another. The mainland government gave its blessing to the partnership earlier this year on July 29th, and have since revealed that total investment in the project is expected to reach 3.4 billion RMB.

Luxgen is a relatively new brand and was developed by Taiwan’s Yulong Motor for use within Taiwan and China. Luxgen currently has two models in its line up, both of which have been spotted out testing in the Chinese mainland before now. Luxgen’s MPV and SUV are powered by a 2.2 inline 4 engine built by the Chunghwa Engine Corp and has a turbo supplied by Garret, the engine is good for 173bhp of power (270Nm).

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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Qi Chen

As the competition within the Chinese market grows, as do the players. Originally there was two kinds of automotive operation within China, there was the joint ventures (JV) and the self developed players such as Chery and Geely, but due to the furthering ties of joint venture partners that have seen the likes of GM and SAIC and also Chang’an and Ford explore overseas opportunities together.

The launch of Qi Chen is aimed at third and fourth tier cities in China and will be making full use of Nissan’s older platform and engines, the first car is expected to launch in early 2012 and will be based on the Nissan Tiida platform, prices are expected to be in the 50,000rmb range.

One point that sticks out is the addition of the English name for the brand, if the brand is set to be a China only brand why does it carry an English name, or are Dongfeng and Nisan planning to attack other markets as well?

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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ulon Motor, Taiwan’s largest automaker by revenue, said Monday it had received the green light from China’s government to start producing its high-tech Luxgen passenger vehicle there from next year.Yulon plans to manufacture the car in a joint venture with China’s Dongfeng Automobile Co at a plant in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, with a total investment of 7.31 billion Taiwan dollars (230 million US).

“We’ll unveil the approval of the mainland authorities within the next two days,” a Yulon spokeswoman told AFP on condition of anonymity.

She added the 50-50 joint venture would have an initial capacity of 120,000 units per year, with the first Luxgen cars rolling off the assembly lines next year.

Yulon, which now mainly produces Nissan cars in Taiwan on licence, has already invested in a joint venture with a Chinese automaker and Daimler to make Mercedes vans in the southeastern province of Fujian.

The Luxgen project has cost Yulon about 15 billion Taiwanese dollars since it started four years ago.

The first Luxgen, a 2.2-litre minivan for family use, was unveiled in Taiwan in September and since then Yulon has received orders from more than 10,000 local motorists, Luxgen said.

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 S30 BSG measures LxWxH 4502 x 1750 x 1465mm, and has a wheelbase of 2610mm. Within a city driving environment the BSG will be able to save upto 11% more fuel than the pure gasoline version, and over mixed driving conditions it can save upto 6%.The car will launch at the Beijing Auto Show later this month.

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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Peugeot-Citroen, the French manufacturer of cars, has shared that it is expecting the Chinese automobile market, which recently outraced the US market to become the world’s biggest market for automobiles, to continue expanding at a very strong pace.

The firm said that it believes that compared to 2009, the market would end up expanding another 10%-20%.

Head of the Peugeot and Citroen brands, Jean-Marc Gales, said that the European market will most probably contract by a one-figure percentage point over 2010, while also sharingPeugeot- Citroen manufactured a total of 3.05 million vehicles last year, or 139,000 fewer than it sold.

“In 2010, markets are expected to show signs of recovery around the world, with the exception of Europe, which will probably experience another decline as scrappage schemes are removed or phased out with gradually declining incentives. The second half should see some glimmers of improvement, however”, the company said.

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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Dongfeng are preparing their own FJ-Cruiser like SUV for the Chinese market. Info on the SUV is thin on the ground with only a render for expectations, however, we have learned that the above SUV (known as the Fengshen)will be slightly smaller than the current Hummer H3, and the chassis will be taken from the current Dongfeng Crazy Soldier. The engine will also be a Dongfeng self designed unit, and is expected to be a yet to be a diesel offering.

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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Despite its aging underneath, the S30 has struck a cord with buyers in second and third tier cities in China, and thanks to its 1.6L engine sales taxes are also low. Dongfeng are planning to launch the hatchback (spy pics above) version at this months Guangzhou Auto Show, and beleive it will get the same enthusiastic sales reception when it goes on sale towards the end of the year. Although the pictures of the upcoming S30 hatch are poor quality, you can easily tell that the hatchback will be similar in style to the Hyundai i10, although  we will have to wait until the GZ show to see more, Dongfeng will apparently be showing off a hybrid version alongside the gasoline version.

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 partnership between a mainland and Taiwanese car company is thought to be the first of its kind, and will see Dongfeng-Yulong work together to produce a new SUV in 2010.

Yulong designed their own MPV for the Taiwanese market, the Luxgen, and plan to introduce it into the Chinese mainland market very soon. The Dongfeng-Yulong SUV is expected to be shown off towards the middle of next year, and will go into production in October 2010 with a 2.0l 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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Dongfeng has steadily been ramping up production with its joint venture partners, Honda, Peugeot, Citroen, and Nissan quietly over the past year and will soon oust First Automobile Works (FAW) as China’s second largest automotive maker. In June 2009 Dongfeng sales jumped to 163,700 vehicles, whilst FAW floundered at 157,000 car sales.

Dongfeng also reported an income of just over 39 billion RMB in the first half of the year which gave the company a profit of 2.606 billion RMB. Industry giants SAIC sales of 1.4399 million car sales in the first hart of the year and a staggering 222,700 in July alone.

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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From The Chosun Ilbo

According to the Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday, Li Shaozhu, the vice-president of Dongfeng Motor Corp., revealed an interest in Holden after leading Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean and Industry Minister Kim Carr on a tour of the company’s factories in Wuhan. Dongfeng, China’s third-largest carmaker, is said to have held talks with GM already. Australian officials strongly denied the report, saying they had no plans to sell the Australian automaker.

Chinese carmakers are eyeing Opel, Saab, Hummer and other GM brands. Beijing Automotive Industry Holding is competing with Canadian car parts maker Magna International to acquire Opel, and if that deal falls through it will acquire Saab, according to a recent report by the South China Morning Post. Meanwhile, Chinese automaker Geely has begun talks to buy Sweden’s Volvo brand from Ford.

This has then been swiftly denied by just about everyone:

SMH.com.au

AN EXECUTIVE at China’s third-largest car maker says the company has made contact about buying Holden from its distressed American parent, General Motors, prompting immediate denials from Holden and the Federal Government.

The vice-president of Dongfeng Motor Corporation, Li Shaozhu, revealed his interest in Holden after taking the Trade Minister, Simon Crean, and Industry Minister, Kim Carr, through his factories in Wuhan.

Asked whether his company had considered buying an Australian car maker, Mr Li said: “We are paying close attention to the impact the financial crisis has had on the international automotive industry and we’re keen about utilising such resources.”

Asked specifically about Holden, he said: “We’ve been paying attention and there have been contacts” – at which point Mr Li’s translator offered her own explanation. Mr Li told the translator, again in Chinese: “You don’t say what I didn’t say”, and the interview, recorded by the Herald, abruptly ended.

The Federal Government appears to be particularly sensitive about talk of selling the Holden brand, after it recently pledged $6.2 billion to the car industry.

“The Australian subsidiaries of Ford, General Motors and Toyota are not for sale,” Senator Carr told the Herald.

From The Business Spectator:

A spokesman for Holden strongly denied that any deal with the Chinese company was underway.

Industry Minister Kim Carr further refuted sales talks in the Australian car industry.

“The Australian subsidiaries of Ford, General Motors and Toyota are not for sale.

“General Motors Holden has had no contact with Dongfeng, the assets are not for sale, and there has been no change to that position,” he told The Age.

Why Dongfeng would want to take over Holden is a mystery, they have a few self designed vehicles, whilst the majority seems to have been plucked from GM’s portfolio and badge engineered for the Aussie market. What Dongfeng could gain is the Holden brand, but should it fall into Chinese hands patriotic Australians are more than likely to jump over onto the Ford bandwagon.

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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Exact details have not been released yet by Dongfeng, but it appears that the 1.8T engine in question is from the SAIC range, aka the Rover K-Series engine.

Dongfeng have had some success with their fengshen sedan, and also their joyear MPV, perhaps their latest SUV will follow the pack.

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 first set of Feng Shen cars will be powered by a 1.6L engine which will produce 78kW/5750rpm, it is currently unknown if this particular engine is produced in house by Dongfeng, or if it is a bought in unit from a third party.

Dongfeng is also expected to produce a mild hybrid version of the Feng Shen, which will be based around stop/start technology (i.e. a bigger alternator motor).

CCT is not well schooled in this particular car, questions such as what platform is it based on, and who the engine is from, and which sales network will it be sold through, have not been answered by our contacts at Dongfeng, any information regarding the above would be much appreciated. Answers in the comment box, as usual!

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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Whilst many people may remember the disaster that was the Dongfeng Little Prince, the new Dongfeng sedan plans to be a whole new player. It measures the same size as the Peugeot 307, it will be powered by a 1.6 16v engine from the PSA warehouse.. The car is actually built off the Citroen ZX platform, and measures (LxWxH)4502/1740/1465mm.

More information on the car is not available, but we will keep CCT readers upto date with it. We do expect it to be launched at the Shanghai Car Show in April 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 Dongfeng Coupe is expected to enter the ‘premium’ sports car market in 2009, and will be powered by an off the shelf Mitsubishi engine. A Dongfeng insider was quoted in the Chinese press as saying that the Dongfeng Coupe is the first Chinese developed premium sports car, CCT on the other hand, much prefers the Brilliance Coupe.

You must keep in mind, that the above pictures were off a concept car – hopefully Dongfeng will see the light and never put the concept into production as it is.

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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From Bloomberg:

Dongfeng Motor Group Co (東風汽車), China’s third-largest automaker, said it had received proposals from investment banks to buy assets from General Motors Corp (GM) as the US carmaker tries to avoid running out of cash.

“We’ve gotten e-mails and investment materials asking us whether we would be interested in buying some of GM’s assets,” Hu Xindong (胡信東), head of investor relations, said by telephone yesterday. “So far, our management has not yet reviewed the issues and we have not yet responded.”

He declined to name the investment banks or the assets. GM said it was not in talks with Dongfeng.

GM is seeking a buyer for its Hummer unit and has said it will consider options for Saab and Saturn as it asks Congress for US$18 billion in aid. Dongfeng and SAIC Motor Corp (上海汽車), the country’s largest automaker, aim to add overseas brands to help boost sales outside of their home market.

“To get enough capital to invest overseas is not a problem for Chinese companies including automakers,” said Yu Bing (餘兵), an analyst at Pingan Securities Co (平安證券) in Shanghai. “But they are more and more aware of possible risks involving overseas acquisition, including issues about local legal regulation and labor union.”

“There are no grounds to these rumors” about Dongfeng looking at assets, said Henry Wong, GM’s Shanghai-based spokesman. “We do not comment on speculation in the press.”

GM, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC, are seeking US$34 billion from the US government to stave off an industry collapse. Ford is exploring the sale of its Volvo unit as it focuses on its namesake brand.

Western financial companies have turned to Chinese investors for money as they seek to shore up capital eroded by almost US$1 trillion in writedown and losses triggered by the collapse of the US subprime mortgage market.

Blackstone Group LP, manager of the world’s largest buyout fund, agreed last month to allow China Investment Corp (中國投資公司), its second-largest outside shareholder, to raise its stake to as much as 12.5 percent.

SAIC paid US$116 million for the design rights of MG Rover Group Ltd’s Rover 25 and 75 models in 2005. The Shanghai-based company also owns 51 percent of South Korea’s Ssangyong Motor Co.

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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Dongfeng is the latest suitor that is involved with Ford in taking over the ailing Volvo, although Ford say it will be in profit in 2009. Dongfeng currently have a joint venture partnership to build Volvo heavy trucks in China.

Dongfeng have been itching to launch their own brand of passenger vehicles for quite some time, although they havent always been very successful on the design front. Acquiring Volvo, and Volvo technology would must surely propel them to the forefront of automotive technology in China and would raise Dongfeng’s game quite a bit.

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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Nissan is to open another factory in China as it seeks to extend its recent growth in one of the world’s most competitive car markets.

The Japanese carmaker will team up with its joint venture partner, China’s Dongfeng Motor Group, to construct a $145m plant in Henan province by 2010.

The factory, Nissan’s fifth in China, will have the capacity to produce 120,000 vans and goods vehicles.

The joint venture will also increase the number of Nissan-branded cars made.

‘Strong position’

Ten new Nissan vehicles will be launched as part of a target to raise total annual production by the joint venture business, Dongfeng Motor, from 610,000 vehicles to 1 million by 2012.

Since being established in 2003, the business has proved an effective springboard for Nissan to grow its brand in China, where there is fierce competition among foreign operators.

Nearly 460,000 Nissan vehicles were sold in China last year, up from 94,000 units in 2003.

By 2012, Nissan plans to raise its own-brand sales to 800,000.

Dongfeng’s investment programme will see it boost the number of car dealerships it operates and double its share of exports.

“Our goal is to build and maintain a strong position in the Chinese markets,” said Kimiyasu Nakamura, the firm’s president.

Nissan and Dongfeng Motor Group each hold a 50% stake in the business.

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 Citroen C-Triomphe was crushed by a landslide in the recent earthquake in Sichuan, but despite its roof collpasing the car was able to drive normally according to recent press 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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Renault are reportedly waiting for a ‘suitable time’ in which to enter into the joint venture with Dongfeng, the Chinese motoring press are saying there is already a lack of suspense, its only a matter of ‘when‘ now rather than ‘if‘. Dongfeng and Renault joint venture agreements for car building date back to 2004, however since then nothing has come of it.

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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Yesterday China Car Times learned that Dongfeng motors, Chinas 3rd largest automotive manufacturer, had made public overtures to Hafei’s parent company, AviChina Industry & Technology Company with regards to forming an automotive joint venture. Avichina is said to be the one financing the joint venture by circulating shares of a sub company, Dongan motors, as well using its assets in Hafei automobiles.

Previously we had heard that Dongfeng was planning to offer upto 2 billion RMB to buy 50% of Hafei automobiles. If the deal goes through and obtains approval of the Chinese government, it would pave the way to further consolidation of Chinas massive automotive industry.

China Car Times cannot guess what Dongfeng want from Hafei automotive, could it be a design team? Could it be car building technology, could it be engine tech from Dongan? Possibly all of the above? Despite Dongfeng having joint ventures with some of the biggest car makers in the world, Dongfeng have yet to release their own brand of vehicles as their largest competitors FAW, and SAIC, have already done. Dongfeng did release the Joyear, but sales have been said to be less than a 1000 units 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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Nissan say they are going for 500,000 sales in China this year. A number which they might just meet, especially if we buy one, then they’ve only 499,999 more sales to worry about.

Japan’s Nissan Motor Co estimated its sales in China will rise 11 percent after introducing competitive new models to cover a broader range of the market.

Japan’s third largest car maker has set a sales target of 500,000 units in the world’s second largest car market this year including both passenger and light commercial vehicles, the company said in a statement yesterday.

As market competition heats up and this leads to lower prices, Nissan plans to launch three new models under the Nissan brand for the Chinese market this year to entice the more affluent Chinese car buyers.

In the luxury market, Infiniti enhances its appeal for Chinese customers by expanding its product line-up and sales network. The first new model of this year, M35, was launched in January.

The first new model will be the Qashqai sports utility vehicle made by Nissan’s local venture with Dongfeng Motor Corp, which rolled off the assembly line yesterday and will begin domestic sales in March.

“In addition to the car sector, we hope to strengthen our competitiveness on the cross-over, multi-purpose and SUV vehicle segments from this year to meet the rapidly growing market demand,” said Ren Yong, deputy manager of Dongfeng Nissan.

Ren’s remarks came after Dongfeng Nissan forecast slower sales growth this year as the car maker faces stronger competition from rivals such as Toyota and Honda with popular new models.

Toyota Motor Corp plans to increase its sales by 43 percent to more than 700,000 units this year while Honda aims to sell 490,000 or 17 percent more vehicles this year.

Dongfeng Nissan expects its sales will rise 26 percent to 345,000 units this year. This compares with a 34-percent jump for 2007 from the 2006 level, helping it take five percent of the market share and rank seven among the top 10 best-selling car makers.

Dongguan-based Dongfeng Nissan produces the Teana mid to upper class sedan, the Tiida sedan and the Bluebird Sylphy in China. It will have a total production capacity of 450,000 units when its new plant begins operating 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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Dongfeng did actually create some of their own cars, but dang, they are ugly, point in case would be their coupe, on the other side of the coin, you have the Dongfeng JingYi, which looks really great, oh, and the Dongfeng Hummer.

Their latest sedan is rumored to be a B class car to go up against the Ford Focus, and Buick Excelle vehicles. Eventually, Dongfeng will cover the B, C, and D segments with its vehicles and increase its dealership network to 75 dealers.

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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