From China Daily

Chinese automobile company Youngman had quit the negotiation on purchasing the Swedish car maker Saab with its bankruptcy administrators, reported the Swedish newspaper Daily Industry (DI) on Wednesday.

According to a source of DI, Saab’s bankruptcy administrators were not sure if the bid would be ratified by the Chinese government, and their lack of confidence lead to the end of Youngman’s negotiation.

Meanwhile, the negotiation with another Chinese company, the Consortium of Electronic Cars, which aimed to product over 100,000 hybrid cars within a year, had become the focus of the bankruptcy administrators, reported DI.

The Chinese consortium reportedly consisted of two companies, a battery company and a car company which was speculated to be the Baic which had earlier bought the whole platform of Saab 9-3 and now used in the production of electronic cars.

“It is not only about electronic cars, but also the production of more hybrid cars which is related to the long-term development of electronic cars,” said the source of DI.

The consortium, lead by former director of Volvo company Karl Erling Trogen, would bid lower than Youngman because it would probably not be interested in the component company Saab Automobile Parts, said the source.

According to DI, the car company Volvo was also negotiating on cooperation with the Chinese consortium, expecting to get support on the costs of the company’s future development.

Mahindra & Mahindra is finding it tough to exorcise the ghosts of failed Chinese ownership at its South Korean car unit Ssangyong as it looks to push the brand into China’s auto market, the world’s largest.

At the same time, the Indian car, tractor and truck maker, the core part of the $14.4 billion diversified Mahindra Group, will take its own rugged sport utility vehicles (SUVs) elsewhere, to emerging markets such as Brazil and South Africa – though it is developing engines to be used across both brands.

Mahindra’s muscular jeeps have for decades been a favourite in India’s rural hinterland, and its tractors work fields from Arizona to Zimbabwe. Cracking the Chinese market with Ssangyong would mark the next frontier for a company that has used booming domestic growth to fuel its global ambitions.

“China is a high priority for Ssangyong, but not for Mahindra,” said Pawan Goenka, president of Mahindra’s automotive and farm equipment sectors and chairman of Ssangyong, which the Indian company bought for $460 million in March last year.

Ssangyong Motor Co, which trails far behind Korean rivals Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors but is popular in Russia, was close to bankruptcy under its Chinese owners SAIC Motor Corp when Mahindra stepped in to buy a 70 percent stake.

The Indian firm started importing Ssangyong cars into China late last year, but has had “limited success” in a market that is slowing and which regards Ssangyong as a premium brand, Goenka said in an interview at Mahindra’s headquarters in central Mumbai.

“An important hurdle we faced was the ‘ghost of the past’ at Ssangyong. They were clearly badly bitten by SAIC.”

“It’s said that SAIC did not do justice to Ssangyong. And there’s an apprehension, a feeling, a concern that we may be a repeat of the same. To remove that concern has taken time. And I can’t say it’s gone 100 percent,” he added. “That has been a little harder than we thought.

Goenka declined to say how many cars Ssangyong sold in China, but said the total lagged expectations. “The ramp-up has not been as we’d expected,” he said. “If Ssangyong was a very strong brand in China, then clearly the market slowdown would not have affected us as it has.”

“There is an action plan that includes brand building and pricing and what kind of product tinkering we do; whether there is a specific requirement of product the Chinese customer would want,” he said.

The Ssangyong project is a career-defining initiative for Goenka, who spent 14 years at General Motors before joining Mahindra almost two decades ago.

Ssangyong, which makes the Korando and Rexton SUVs and the Chairman luxury marque, sold 114,000 vehicles in the year to end-March, exporting two-thirds of its production. Goenka expects sales to increase to 125,000 cars this year, and has set a target of 160,000 for 2013.

He said plant capacity could probably be increased to 180,000-200,000 vehicles at minimal extra cost. “It will take us to 2014 until we sweat the assets fully. That’s very important,” he said, noting depreciation as a part of Ssangyong’s revenue was above the industry norm as the assets are under-utilised.

Ssangyong made a loss of around $80 million in 2011, three times bigger than its 2010 loss, but it was offset by unlocking working capital tied up in the company.

“As of now we have no plans (to take Mahindra to China),” said Goenka. “We are entering China through Ssangyong. Once that is successful, then we will evaluate whether it makes sense to bring Mahindra products there.

“Once the volume picks up, and we reach a certain economic level, then we will look at manufacturing in China,” he said, adding that all new vehicle platforms will be shared by Ssangyong and Mahindra cars. “Together we are developing next-generation transmissions, which is a fairly expensive program that neither Mahindra nor Ssangyong could justify doing on their own.”

The VW-DSG issue has been bubbling away in Chinese media publications for a number of months now, with the threat of it bubbling over into a very real issue for VW they have now announced that all six and seven speed DSG units will now be given ten year/160,000km warranties.

BYD’s “i-BYD” system was unveiled at long last yesterday, the much talked about system will offer drivers multiple services when it pops out of the dashboard when the drivers side door opens. The “i-BYD” robot allows drivers to remotely find their car via cellphone (a much needed feature!), allows drivers to unlock or lock their car remotely, switch on the AC from their phone or key fob and if you really want to know the latest news, the robot can read off the headlines as you drive. Think the robot is a little unsettling? Don’t worry, it also has emotions and can speak – making human-machine interaction possible.

The ’6B’ hasn’t yet been given its official name, but its likely to use the F3 Plus moniker that was bestowed upon it at the Beijing Auto Show last month. Under the hood, the 6B isn’t the BYD you know – it’s carrying a 1.5T engine capable of propelling the heavier hybrid version from 0-100kph in sub 8 seconds, this non hybrid version could well be closer to 7 seconds.

Gear swapping responsibilities are given to a six speed manual or a dual clutch gearbox, again, both developed by BYD in-house, which shows a great commitment to BYD’s technological capabilities.

BYD’s Changsha facility is going to be a major production site for the company in the next few years, the facility is already geared up to produce the BYD ’6B’ and F0 mini car but will also produce BYD’s MPV range including the M6 and also 1500 electric buses per year, total production is expected to hit 50,000 units.

By 2015 GWM wants to have a yearly sales capacity of 1.3 million vehicles and a production capacity of 1.5 million vehicles, production goals are always easier to reach than sales goals but that is not stopping the ambitious company. Great Wall plans to put 20 more cars onto the market in the next four years according to media reports, including pure electric vehicles.

Last years Shanghai Auto Show played host to the launch of Great Wall’s flagship C70 Sedan which is powered by a 2.0T putting out a modest 218bhp, not a bad start for a young Chinese company, the new sedan is mated to 5 speed manual and six speed automatic gearboxes. The Beijing Auto Show saw the launch of the H7, a midsize SUV that also uses the same 2.0T engine.

Another popular car that is readying for launch is the Hover H2, a compact SUV that is powered by a 1.5L engine and mated to 5 speed manual and CVT gearboxes – again, another fantastic start for the company.

The Golf R Cabriolet will let you feel the wind in your hair, and likely give you some serious ear damage when it hits the market. The Chinese patent office was kind enough to let us know what the forthcoming road going beast will look like when it hits the market, we have no idea when it will hit the market but end of the year is likely. The Golf R is not to be confused with the Golf GTI rag top, that itself is likely to be launch in summer giving VW China the EOS convertible, Golf Convertible, GTI Convertible and Golf R Convertible. VW Imported Dealerships are going to have a lot of rag tops on offer in the next few months.

A quick cursory glance at MG fan forums tells you everything you need to know, “I’d buy one if it was diesel” (and ten years old, in a second hand yard) seems to the call of MG fans. MG has listened. The boffins at SAIC have rolled out a 1.9 turbo diesel, Prince Andrew accidentally unveiled the derv version on his tour of Longbridge factory where the hood/bonnet of the diesel was popped up for MG fans to notice the engine was somewhat different.

The exterior is sporting the all important Turbo D badge, whilst the interior seems to using the much waited for six speed gearbox. The MG6 is a decent drive, but really needs that sixth gear for long stretches of road.

If the MG6 Diesel doesn’t make MG UK (and Europe) sales fly through the roof, nothing will. Role on the automatic dual clutch and fleet managers across Europe will be shouting “Just take my non existent money”

Nissan Motor Co. (7201), Japan’s second- largest carmaker, is preparing to appoint a global head for its Infiniti luxury brand after setting up the unit’s headquarters to Hong Kong to boost China sales.

Nissan has made its pick and the executive will be named “at a fitting time,” Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn told reporters in Hong Kong today. Nissan, which introduced the luxury brand to China in 2007, plans to increase China sales by 50 percent this year, he said.

Nissan is counting on China to help drive growth and challenge Volkswagen AG (VOW)’s Audi, Daimler AG (DAI)’s Mercedes-Benz and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG. Ghosn plans to more than triple Infiniti sales to 500,000 units in five years to raise its share of the global luxury car market share to 10 percent.

“What they are trying to do in China is what Toyota’s doing in the U.S.,” said Kota Yuzawa, an analyst of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) (GS) said today by phone. “It’s very much from scratch. Lexus 20 years ago was also from scratch.”

Global management, sales and marketing staff for the brand will be based out of Hong Kong from today, while engineers will remain in Yokohama, Japan, Haruko Wada, a spokesman for Infiniti in Hong Kong, said by telephone. The new headquarters will have a workforce of about 100 by the end of this year, mostly hired externally, she said.

Nissan’s deliveries of Infiniti vehicles in China climbed almost 40 percent to 19,000 units last year, making it the luxury brand’s second-largest market after the U.S., where two- thirds of Infiniti cars were sold last year.
Shares Gain

Nissan rose 4.4 percent, the most in six months, to close at 776 yen in Tokyo trading, while the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 1.1 percent. The stock has gained 12 percent this year, outperforming the Nikkei.

“Establishing our headquarters in Hong Kong, the gateway to China, is an acknowledgment of the center of gravity in luxury vehicle sales,” Andy Palmer, the Nissan executive vice president in charge of Infiniti, said in a statement today. He said dealerships will increase from 25 last year to more than 100 over the next year.

Sales of premium cars have “considerable” room to grow as they only account for about 5 percent of vehicle sales in China, compared with 10 percent in the U.S. and 16 percent in Europe, Yuzawa wrote in an April 20 report. Infiniti sales may reach 300,000 in the country by March 2021, according to Yuzawa’s report.
Infiniti M Sedan

Nissan said last month it will begin manufacturing two Infiniti models in China from 2014. It unveiled a stretched version of the Infiniti M sedan designed for Chinese customers at the Beijing Auto Show last month.

Ghosn said the details, including the location, of the Infiniti’s China plant will be announced by the end of the year.

Nissan manufactures most Infiniti models in Tochigi, Japan, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Tokyo. The yen’s climb, reaching a postwar high in October, led the company to reduce Japan production. Infiniti JX SUVs started rolling off assembly lines in Tennessee in February, Nissan spokesman Toshitake Inoshita said.

“The challenge is how they will bring new models to meet local demands,” Masatoshi Nishimoto, an analyst with IHS Automotive, said this month. “The Chinese premium car market is already very competitive as there are German luxury brands like Audi and BMW that have already established a good reputation among local consumers.”

The 25 years old from Guangzhou is not a stranger to the team as he raced for Asia Racing Team in the last event of 2011 Formula Pilota China at Sepang. Zou Si Rui learnt his race craft in the Formula West and did a single appearance in Asian Formula Renault Championship but he raised the bar in 2012.

Looking ahead to upcoming season, Zou Si Rui said, “Since my aim is to race in Europe one day, I have taken this step because I believe in the team’s capabilities to move forward and I get on well with everyone in the team. Every driver wants to be a in a winning car and to win races. I’m no different. I race for success.”

In 2011 Asia Racing Team driver Luis Sa Silva became vice-champion of Formula Pilota China. The team scored 2 overall victories and a total of 9 podium positions.

Welcoming Zou Si Rui to the team Philippe Descombes said, “It’s great to have Zou on board with us for this season. His motivation is contagious around the team, and his performance in testing has so far been very encouraging. He has made a huge amount of progress already but we all know in advance the competition is going to be fierce.”

The Formula Pilota China will kick off in Shanghai from 15 – 17 June, before visiting Ordos, Zhuhai, Taiwan with the season finale in Sepang in November.

Rather than set up more joint ventures overseas, China Changan Automobile Group Co Ltd, China’s largest national auto brand measured by output, is trying to introduce its independently made products and brands to other countries.

“We are looking at building automobile assembly plants in foreign markets including Russia and Brazil,” said Xu Liuping, board chairman of the Shenzhen-listed Changan Automobile.

The company, after several years of researching and developing products tailored to overseas markets, will try to gain a larger global presence in the second half of the year.

Rather than trying to buy foreign brands, Changan will continue to explore the possibility of taking its independent capital, products and brands into foreign markets and of cooperating more with foreign business partners.

Owned by China’s largest military industrial group, China South Industries Group Corp, the Chongqing-based automaker has concentrated on conducting independent research and development in auto manufacturing since 1984, when it went from being a maker of ordnance to one of vehicles.

Measured by the number of vehicles it produces under its independent brands, rather than through joint ventures with foreign partners, Changan Automobile outranks other Chinese automakers, according to data from the International Organization of Auto Vehicle Manufacturers. In 2010, it produced 1.76 million of its own vehicles.

The organization said the top five Chinese auto brands measured by production are Changan Automobile, Beijing Automotive Group, Dongfeng Motor Corp, FAW Group Corp and Chery Automobile Co Ltd.

By 2020, Changan plans to be able to produce 4 million automobiles annually under its independent brands, enough to meet demand from both domestic and foreign markets.

“We are targeting the Middle Eastern, Latin American and African markets,” Xu said.

Changan now has six factories in Mexico, Egypt and other countries. Last year, its overseas operations generated 474.92 million yuan ($75.13 million) in revenues, down 9.59 percent year-on-year, according to the company’s 2011 financial statement.

Chery introduced the Riich and Reely brands in 2008, neither of which have had a major impact on the Chinese auto market. The flagship Riich G5 and G6 models are not gaining the sales volume that was initially expected and seem to be somewhat behind their nearest rivals at Geely. The Reely range seems to be kept afloat by the previous Chery V5 station wagon which was pushed over to the Reely range under the shuffle.

Big plans for the Cowin/Fulwin range of cars seem to be on the horizon, the range of cars are currently under the Chery logo but have received a great amount of attention from Chery over the past few months with the introduction of new vehicles, possible SUV’s and MPV’s are expected to wear the Cowin branding in the next few months. The Cowin series was responsible for 260,000 sales in 2011.

Chery are also preparing their new Oriental Son, a second generation version of their original 2003 B-Segment sedan that won them large sales in their early days.

Qoros Auto Co Ltd, Chery’s first JV with a foreign company, is seeking a Rmb3bn 10-year loan for its factory construction project.

Also located in Changshu, the 50-50 JV between Chery and investment firm Israel Corp has mandated Export-Import Bank of China to lead the Rmb3bn loan. Several major state-owned banks are going through internal credit assessment to join the deal, sources said.

The loan is offering a margin of at least 100% of the PBOC rate, according to a source. It repays after a three-year grace period, which is equal to the factory’s construction period, the source said.

Both shareholders will be guarantors of the deal, while the loan is secured by all the assets of the factory construction project.

The deal is slated to close in mid-May.

Established in 2007, Qoros Auto, formerly known as Chery Quantum Auto Co Ltd, launched its first car brand Qoros in November 2011. The brand will go on sale in 2013 in China and Western Europe, a market the company hasn’t yet entered with its own brand name, according to the company’s website.

Qoros has a top team of experienced auto experts and executives from the West, including former Mini chief designer Gert Hildebrand, Reuters reported last November.

Sources said the Changshu factory needed total investment of Rmb7bn. On completion, the factory will have an initial production capacity of 150,000 vehicles per annum, the company website said.

Construction of the factory’s main buildings will be finished by June, before the assembly line is installed, a Qoros spokesman said. The entire factory will be ready to produce cars by the end of this year, he added. But Qoros could not comment on the financing.

The QQ5, shown below, uses the same platform as the old QQ3 but with a slightly refreshed skin, the rear hatch is similar to the Toyota Aygo that we’ve seen copied on multiple Chinese cars, the BYD F0 and Geely Panda to name but two. Engine power comes from the trusty 1.0L unit from Chery’s ATECO engine range, power is not Ferrari level with just 63bhp but fuel consumption seems quite high for a small engine: 5.3L under combined driving, according to government figures.

The QQ5 will hit the market in November this year according to media reports, which means that production will probably take place over the summer period.

Engine power remains the same, but the exterior has been given a new set of wheels and some nice sporty touches around the grill and rear. Oddly, the almost comically big wheel arches (rumored to be the second Chinese creation visible from space, after the Great Wall) are still in play, perhaps JAC would have done well to lower the car a centimeter, or ten. Pricing is set at 87,800RMB which is not bad for the 1.5L car with 106Kw at 6500RPM on tap.

Despite the mockery, JAC is one of the few Chinese car companies that ‘gets it’ when it comes to maintaining a coherent design style through-out its range. No wonder the Brazilians love them.

According to regulations, Race 2 is maximum 60 minutes with a compulsory pit stop, which must be carried out during the period after lap 5 and 15 minutes before the chequered flag. However, Asian GT Series will only count the championship points according to the place at lap 10. Although the pit opens after lap 5, it is not allowed to change driver before the first 10 laps

After the last two rounds, Frank Yu now maintaining the top position of the point table with 7 scores ahead of Philip Ma, whowill attend the series again at the wheel of the Audi R8 LMS. The other driver who stands on top three now is Samson Chan, only 3 scores less than Philip Ma. Eric Lo and Shaun Thong are capable to intervene the battle, as with more than 20drivers on the track have many variables.

This weather will be extremely hot during this weekend; it will be a tough race for all of the drivers.

RV and motorhomes are picking up in the Middle Kingdom, Chinese consumers are combining the best of their addictions at a rapid pace. Chinese consumers are beginning to see the appeal of a car that is also their home, a perfect getaway vehicle to get away from the hustle and bustle of China’s major urban centers that despite their size, give a claustrophobic feel.

China’s RV industry is at the starting point, feet have just left the brakes but it is in a fully fledged sprint towards an imagined finish line of RV’s becoming a common site. In 2001 just 1 single RV was sold in China, by 2010 900 units were sold with about 4500 units on the road since then. Sales for 2012 are expected to be around 1500 units with total units expected to breach 6000.

America on the other hand has around 8.9 million RV’s on the road and 16,500 official places to park up, Korea has around 10,000 RV’s and 100 official camp sites, but Japan is the Asian RV king with around 78,000 RV’s and 1350 places to camp. China has roughly 100 places with more being added at a rapid place.

Great Wall was one of the first companies to understand the potential behind the domestic RV market, it bolted a basic camper to the back of its then flagship Wingle vehicle in 2007, since then the company has improved its product range and seen many around 30 domestic competitors join the market with self developed products, or existing cargo vehicles that have been adopted for RV life. International manufacturers such as Iveco, Unicat, Evergreen, Forest River etc have been eager to enter the Chinese market, there are currently 10 such brands in the Chinese market and more are expected to join in the next few months. Chinese RV’s are not cheap, the Great Wall Wingle 3 RV comes in at 250,000RMB, an IVECO based RV made by Zhong Tian sells for 478,000RMB, an RV based on Nissan’s NV200 from Wuzhou retails for 198,000RMB, even a simple caravan from Beijing’s ZhongTian sells for 138,000RMB. Not cheap.

Chinese made RV’s may be a hard sell in the Middle Kingdom, high prices coupled with slightly interesting designs are likely to put off Chinese consumers in the short term. Also those that want to have a small trailer or caravan maybe off put by the Government’s requirement that anybody towing anything requires an ‘A1 or A2’ truck driving license, where as the vast majority of car owners opt for C1 or C2 licenses that allow them to drive regular 7 seat or lower passenger cars.

Various government ministerys have to approve the joint venture, the JV is expected to land in Changshu city, close to Shanghai, and will use the same facilities as Qoros, another Chery joint venture partner. Total investment is expected to peak at 12 billion RMB with both parties investing 6 billion RMB to see production reaching 130,000 units per year.

Chinese media reports indicated that Chery is currently looking to raise the funds for the JV with multiple Chinese banks, but this was denied by Chery’s General Manager Mr. Jin Yi Bo. Chery’s Chairman also revealed to Chinese press that Chery are preparing to IPO soon.

Rumors circulating on the internet last week indicated that Chery would supply the engines to Chinese made JLR products from their own expansive ATECO range which includes large displacement V6, turbo assisted mid range displacements and smaller sub 1.0L units, although the chances of Chery engines being fitted in England’s finest is still rather slim.

JLR’s move into the Chinese market comes somewhat late when compared to German manufacturers who introduced themselves into China over a decade ago, or in Audi’s case two decades ago. JLR’ has seen its sales figures rise in China considerably, last year Land Rover sold 34,993 cars in the Chinese market, a sales increase of 58% over 2010, Jaguar sold 3897 units.

James Muir, Chairman of SEAT, said: “SEAT has arrived in China. We are launching our success story on this market with our state-of-the-art, attractive city showrooms and with the SEAT Leon as the entry model.

“Here in China, we are observing a groundswell of increasingly discerning customers that want to differentiate themselves with their cars. SEAT stands for emotional design and state-of-the-art engineering, for guaranteed driving fun mile-for-mile. Our unique combination of design and performance, of technology and precision secures for us an enormous potential within this key marketplace.”

The SEAT dealer network in China has planned to expand further over the next few months, reaching 15 operations by the end of 2012. This summer will see showrooms open in Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanning, Xi’an und Xiamen, with Beijing and Shanghai following.

The Leon Cupra is on sale in China from 240,000RMB to 290,000RMB.

Chinese dealers are struggling with the rising number of unsold cars that’s threatening to deepen price cuts, according to the nation’s biggest automobile dealers’ association.

Dealerships for Honda Motor Co. (7267), Chery Automobile Co., BYD Co. (002594) and Geely (175) Automobile Holdings Ltd. carried more than 45 days of inventory as of the end of April, exceeding the threshold that foreshadows debilitating price cuts, Su Hui, vice president of the auto market division at the state-backed China Automobile Dealers Association, said in an interview yesterday.

“Unsold cars are crowding dealer lots in cities from Guangzhou in the south to Xi’an to the west,” Su said in a phone interview yesterday from Beijing. “It’s like a contagious disease that will spread.”

The warning signals that vehicle deliveries reported by companies, which have risen more than analysts’ estimates for the past two months, aren’t fully translating to consumer sales. Demand was the slowest in the first four months since 1998, weighing on automakers from General Motors Co. (GM) to Volkswagen AG (VOW), which are counting on the world’s largest auto market to offset slumping sales in Europe.

Volvo has handed the XC90 platform over to its Chinese owners ahead of a new version launching in 2014, the National Business Daily is reporting that Geely will use the XC90 platform to develop yet another high end brand for the Chinese market with the XC90 being the highlight of the new brand. The agreement to hand over the XC90 to Geely was signed on March 9th of this year, but it is not yet clear if any other vehicles were included in the transfer. The next generation XC90 is currently in development and will hit the market in 2014.

The XC90 is no new vehicle, the P2 platform on which the XC90 is based was first aired in 1999 and was developed prior to the Ford purchase of Volvo, the same platform underpinned several cars such as the S80, Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS sedan

Geely launched their first SUV at the Beijing Auto Show, the GX7 SUV is the first AWD product from the company, the compact SUV is powered by a 1.8L engine and a six speed manual gearbox.

Chang'an DS5 - The French Presidents Choice

The new French president got into the swing of things in his new role as the leader of the 5th French Republic, François Hollande knocked the former prez,  Nicolas Sarkozy, out of office.

Hollande won on the back of an anti austerity campaign, he clearly believes that the people shouldn’t have to pay for the banks and governments mistakes, but that has not stopped him from installing his own austerity campaign in the presidential garage. Hollande’s presidential car has been announced as a Citroen DS5, a hybrid family car and more importantly, a hybrid with French style. A 2.0L Diesel with an electric motor to help drive the rear wheels, nothing spectacular when compared to the British Prime Ministers own Jaguar XJ, and certainly nothing compared to Obama’s Beast of a Cadillac.

Imagine the Chinese president driving around in a regular family car, actually don’t bother as its something that is never likely to happen. Chinese netizens are in agreement, many shared their shock online that the president of a major leading economy dares to drive in a 350,000RMB car.

When Auto.163.com reported on Hollande’s new choice of cars, netizens let their voices be heard with over 5000 comments being posted within a few hours, mostly in support of the presidents choice of automobile. Here’s just a sample:

France is so poor! Their president cars are not as good as our village leaders cars!

The French presidential car is no where near as good as the cars bought by Yu Shu Local Government after the earthquake

I welcome Hollande to be a Chinese village leader, he will get a better car!

My village leader has a Rolls Royce!

The DS5 is beautiful!

In China, this car would be destroyed by second generation rich Chinese, and nobody would notice

This is what I call supporting your country’s goods!

Chinese consumers will be able to get their hands on the French presidential car in the second half of the year when the DS5 is imported into China, eventually the car will be produced locally via the Chang’an-PSA line up which will likely see DS5′s rolling down the production line by the years end.

update: Changed the displacement, thanks for the point out!

After the initial smash attack it emerged that the owner bought the car second hand from Germany, he had some problems with it and took it to the local Lamborghini dealer to be fixed, upon returning the car the owner claimed there was additional scratches on the car that didn’t exist before. He says Lamborghini caused them, Lamborghini says they didn’t, the owner became enraged when Lamborghini apparently ignored him and took hammers to his own car to get ‘revenge’ and now takes the flat looking car to various car shows to highlight Lamborghini’s allegedly poor service.

The central government has allocated 6 billion yuan ($949 million) to subsidise consumer purchases of fuel-saving cars, Xinhua News Agency reported late on Wednesday, putting a cumulative figure for the first time on the handouts as it moves to cut emissions in the world’s biggest auto market.

Beijing started offering a 3,000 yuan rebate on consumer purchases of small, fuel-efficient cars in June 2010, but has not previously indicated the total cost of the subsidy.

In September last year, the government raised the bar to make the subsidy available only to purchases of cars with an engine displacement of 1.6 litres or smaller that consume 6.3 litres of gasoline or less per 100 km, compared with the previous limit of 6.9 litres.

Beijing has also been encouraging its fledgling electric car industry with hefty incentives, including subsidies of up to 60,000 yuan for each vehicle sold.

A green vehicle development plan approved by the State Council in April set a cumulative output target of 5 million hybrid and electric vehicles (EV) by 2020. ($1 = 6.3222 Chinese yuan)

So what’s missing? The GPS/DVD system has gone, as has the obvious automatic gearbox which has been replaced with a six speed manual. The headlights have been changed for lesser versions and the headlight washing facility has been removed (does anyone use this anyway?)

Manuals only seem to come on base models in the Chinese market. Try to buy a top of the line sedan with a decent turbo or V6 engine and you are looking at slush boxes exclusively, and if you do get a manual, you can bet that it will only be on the bottom of the range model.

So when will the X1 with basically all options deleted hit the market? Second half the year. And how much? We can guess at 260,000RMB to 270,000RMB. Is that expensive for a small SUV? Yes. Will Audi finally launch a 1.8T Q5 in response? We hope.

CCT is popular. Many people like it, a minority don’t. Personally I hardly ever remove comments, the only comments that get removed  are comments that:

a) Actively attack other members, going beyond the realm of gentlemen-like discussion and into personal attack

b) Irritate the admin, me, or other writers with personal attacks. Conflicting opinions are welcomed, perhaps you have a thought or comment to add, that is fine, comments that attack the writer/author/admins with vulgar language are removed.

Some users seem to meet the above criteria, but hardly ever go over it, occasionally though one goes too far and irks my attention. The person in question seems to enjoy sending rude emails and putting fake addresses through the newsletter subscription form, of course we have the IP address of the user who is up in Jinan, Shandong province. We could report it but realistically I cant be bothered, let’s just hope the user in question grows up.

Let’s keep the fun going in the meantime. CCT is great, and will continue to bring the best news out of the Chinese car industry.

In August 2011 Wu Hua Xian Tong Yuan’s Toll booth had a case of violence against a toll booth worker, one driver, in a bid to avoid paying a 10rmb highway fee bit the ear of a worker and escaped from the scene. A 3:45am a car with the Guangdong A plate left Wu Hua County on its way to Guangzhou City, at the toll booth the driver told the worker that he was a local resident and therefore didn’t have to pay the 10RMB fee, the worker advised otherwise, suddenly the driver made a jumpfor the worker and got his teeth into his ear, he lost a 4cm strip of ear in the process.

The driver fled the scene and remained on the run until recently, obviously toll booth security cameras are not that clear on picking up license plate numbers. The police caught up with the perp as he was sitting in a restaurant in Guangzhou. The 33 year old male is now in detention pending an investigation. Journalists were able to talk with him while in prison, where he admitted to being drunk at the time of the incident

BMW introduced the second generation 1-series in late 2011, with a 1.6T engine and also a naturally aspirated version, earlier today BMW also introduced the six cylinder 125i model which is priced in at 370,000RMB.BMW is hoping to play catch up with Audi in 2012, Audi has managed to hold onto a long headway in the Chinese market, largely thanks to its early market entry in comparison to its rivals.

Landwind are potentially borrowing the 1.5T engine from the Chang’an Eado sedan and are preparing to mate it to an 8 speed gearbox, the final product should hit the market later this year. The new SUV is expected to be using an 8 speed gearbox developed by Shengrui in Shandong province, the unit hasn’t yet hit the market but is expected to be hitting Chinese cars soon.

The Lavida has already been a big seller for SH-VW since its introduction in 2009, the model uses the same 1.4TSI engine as the China market Golf and also the same naturally aspirated 1.6L engine as well as dual clutch gearbox. The Lavida was developed in house by Shanghai-Volkswagen, the Bora was also redeveloped by FAW-VW as a reaction to both demands from VW’s Chinese partners for new compact cars to engage the lower end of the Chinese market. The Chinese automotive media also seem to like the Lavida, although many reviews have noted that the interior and some of the work is not as high as other VW models. The VW hatch is supposedly readying to launch in 2013, VW’s own production schedule indicates that the Lavida hatch will take up a small percentage of production volume with the sedan continuing to be the big daddy for the SH-VW production lines.

The 600BHP SUV will only see sales of 30-40 units worldwide this year, with early sales of 4 units in China it seems that the company maybe on the right track.

First of all you have the mark 2 from 1984 which is the ultimate heir to the Jetta nameplate, later FAW-VW introduced the modern mk4 version which Euro’s called the Bora and Chinese did too, although China got a Bora R version which used the then mk 4 GTI’s engine. A sort of mk4.5 version wheeled out of FAW-VW with a facelift, the outgoing mk4 Golf also became the Bora hatchback as well. Later the mk 5 version arrived on Chinese shores, except this was called the Sagitar. The Sagitar was a hit from the get-go, thousands of units were sold each month, Chinese consumers loved the Sagitar and it quickly became the compact sedan to own, especially when compared with the then Ford Focus and its out of date tech. The Sixth Gen was wheeled into China in early 2012 with sales beginning a few months ago, with 1.4TSI, 1.6L and 1.8TSI engines mated to a mixture of 5 speed manual and 7 speed dual clutch gearboxes.

Now the Jetta NF is being readied for end of year production, at least according to reports. Chinese media are reporting that the NF stands for ‘Nachfolger’ which apparently means ‘Successor’ in the German language, but being bound by just two languages I have no idea. According to documents leaked to the internet, the NF project was kick started back in 2008 and final design was completed in Nov 2011 and road testing starting just after, March 2012 saw the start of small scale production. Further documentation indicates that production will happen in two factories at the same time, firstly production will begin in Changchun in Sept and production starting again in Chengdu in early 2013. Monthly production is expected to hit 11,000 units per month from March 2013. Early sales are expected to be as low as 50,000 in 2012 but by 2019 FAW-VW have a sales goal of 350,000 units per year, presumably when all the mk 2 Jetta taxis currently in circulation need replacing.

The NF is expected to sit on the current Polo platform which will be of course shared with the Skoda Rapide when that also sees production later this year. We can guess that engine power will also be the same as the current Polo, thus 1.6L engines will likely be the core power plants, although a smaller 1.4L cannot be written off yet!

The A3 comes with 1.6L and 1.8L engines with manual and automatic gearboxes available, a 1.3 supercharged car was once in the works but no news about this model has surfaced recently. The above pictures show that the A3 is undergoing a nip and tuck, possibly to bring the A3 into line with a new corporate face from Chery. Chery is one company that seems to have multiple design themes running through its expansive model line up, hopefully sometime in 2012/13 we will seen the range become more coherent.

Fiat also announced the cars name: 菲翔 (Fei Xiang). Now the Chinese press are taking a lot of interesting the Viaggo (菲翔) ahead of its launch, the most recent reports indicate the Viaggo will hit the market in September this year with one confirmed engine: a 1.4T, although naturally aspirated units are expected to follow.

Selling the Fei Xiang under any other brand wouldn’t be a problem, but Fiat suffers from some brand damage after its pull out of the Chinese market in 2006 after the collapse of the Nanjing-Fiat joint venture where Nanjing Auto were blamed for putting too much effort into their then new MG project, and Nanjing taking flack due to its lack of investment in new models for the Chinese market. Fiat has much work to do in rebuilding consumer confidence in the Fiat brand, the Fei Xiang is the perfect step forward but the model does have strong competition. The VW Sagitar and Ford Focus are both strong models in this segment and hold some sway over the market, hopefully the Fiat Viaggio will be enough to establish a beach head before the introduction of more models.

Suddenly the novelty of having a full size truck and not being able to drive down the city’s main strip showing off your man toy evaporated. Gray market distributors had full size trucks on their hands and no where to sell them to, what’s the point in sitting in traffic guzzling down 9RMB per litre fuel in your 6.7L truck if no one can see you?

One GMC dealer in Shanghai has come up with a novel solution to the above problem: Give away the fuel. Every buyer of a GMC Denali truck will receive 5,000KG of 97# fuel for free. The Denali is priced in at 850,000RMB ($134,000USD) in Shanghai, but more like $50,000USD back in the US of A. So why announce 5 tons? 5 tons of fuel works out to be about 50,000RMB’s worth of fuel, but gathers better headlines than a 50,000RMB discount.

Volvo’s Chinese owner offered to take a large minority stake in the Japanese maker of Subaru cars, an offer – never accepted – that illustrates its ambition to expand business in China and around the world and gain more technology to improve its own cars.

Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said Zhejiang Geely Holding Group offered to buy a stake of about 20 per cent in Japan’s Fuji Heavy Industries late last year through an investment banking intermediary.

If the bid had been successful, it could have paved the way for a joint-venture company in China to produce Subarus which currently have to be brought in from abroad.

China has been the world’s biggest auto market by volume since 2009.

By taking over Volvo and now possibly another foreign brand, Geely wants not only to expand its business around the world quickly but use their technology and auto design and manufacturing expertise to improve its own-branded cars.

Whether Geely can be successful in that endeavour also has broader implications for corporate China’s global expansion.

Chinese companies have poured tens of billions of dollars into foreign acquisitions in recent years – much of it into resources businesses – but they have had little success digesting and managing major consumer brands.

Geely’s interest in Fuji Heavy ‘sounds like a good strategy’, said Mr Yale Zhang, head of Shanghai-based consulting firm Automotive Foresight.

Volvo is a premium brand and Geely’s own brands in China are all affordable low-end brands.

‘Fuji Heavy could have filled the gap in the middle of product offerings Geely has,’ Mr Zhang said.

A 20 per cent stake would have made the Hangzhou-based automaker the biggest shareholder in Fuji, ahead of Toyota Motor, which currently has a 16.5 per cent stake.

The sources said Fuji Heavy never responded to the offer.

Mr Kenta Matsumoto, a Tokyo-based spokesman for Fuji Heavy, said he was not aware of an acquisition offer from Geely.

A Geely spokesman declined to comment.

Fuji Heavy, known for its all-wheel-drive technology, had applied for a joint venture to produce cars in China with Chery Automobile, one of the country’s few remaining major automakers with no foreign partner.

China requires foreign automakers to partner a local company with a stake of up to 50 per cent to build cars in the country for local consumption.

Beijing objected to the move since it viewed Toyota Motor, Japan’s top automaker, as effectively controlling Fuji Heavy and pointed out that Toyota already has two local Chinese partners – the maximum number of joint ventures allowed for a foreign auto maker to operate in China.

Chery earlier this year announced that it picked Jaguar Land Rover, a unit of Indian group Tata Motors, as a possible joint-venture partner.

On Tuesday, Fuji Heavy executives said in Tokyo the company no longer expected to be able to start local vehicle production in China during a five-year growth plan that runs until March 2016, and lowered its global sales target for the final year by 50,000 vehicles.

Geely’s offer, according to the knowledgeable individuals, was aimed at overtaking Toyota as the largest shareholder in Fuji Heavy, making it possible for the Chinese government to give the necessary blessing for Geely and Fuji Heavy to form a China joint venture.

Geely founder and chairman Li Shufu, who is also Volvo chairman, was willing to reduce Geely’s stake in Fuji Heavy once the joint venture was approved, the individuals said.

It was not immediately clear whether Geely had talked to Toyota before extending the acquisition offer to Fuji Heavy.