Recent Articles
Youngman-Lotus unveils new L6, GT versions of L3 and L5
In addition to their new SUV and boombox antics, Youngman-Lotus brought a bunch of sedans to Beijing, including a new car. However, all of them are so similar to their older models that it caused a great deal of confusion. The Proton-based L3 and L5 both got GT versions, and a new car called the [...]
Facelift BYD F0 to hit the market in late 2012
BYD’s hot selling F0 will see a new model hitting the market towards the end of 2012 according to media reports. The F0 was one of BYD’s best selling models when it hit the market three years ago, however interest in the car has waned as other hot mini cars hit the market, BYD’s reaction [...]
Brilliance H230 Hatch Appears Online
The Brilliance FRV was a big seller for Shenyang based Brilliance, the hatchback put the Brilliance badge back into the public eye when the little bubble car sold in its thousands every month. As part of a maturing strategy Brilliance are moving to a different naming system for its car range and are introducing more [...]
Volvo Aiming for 200k Car Sales in China
From Reuters: Swedish car maker Volvo, owned by Chinese group Geely, said it was on track to meet its long-term goal of boosting sales more than four-fold in China after reporting a fall in 2011 earnings due to costs related to its expansion. Volvo was bought by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd from Ford [...]
Skoda Rapid to See China Production in Early 2013
The Mission L Concept car took up major space on the Skoda stand at this years Beijing Auto Show, the Mission L Concept will eventually become the much talked about Skoda Rapid that will sit above the Skoda Fabia when launched. Chinese media are today reporting that the Rapid will see production in China in [...]
Lotus Stunt Goes Slightly Wrong in Hefei
Youngman’s ‘Lotus’ brand which is essentially made up Proton cars in drag, is being pitched hard as a sports brand in second and third tier cities. They do many auto sports events to prove the prowess of their Malaysian/Chinese cars, one of which includes doing a loop the loop in a wooden loop of death, [...]
Zotye Z100 Emerges as China’s Cheapest Car, World’s Most Desirable Cheapest Car
The Tata Nano is the World’s Cheapest Car, it’s not the world’s best looking car, or even the most desirable car, but Zotye seemed to have bridged the gap between cheap and decent looking with the introduction of the Z100. The Z100 wasn’t on show in Beijing, but it has made it to the internet [...]
China Loves GM, GM Loves China
In a recent interview with Newsmax.com, GM’s Chairman Daniel Akerson gives some insight into GM’s activities in the Chinese market. GM’s brands have been going from strength to strength in the Chinese market with a lot of the product being produced in China and localized for Chinese tastes. GM’s flagship Cadillac brand is picking up [...]
BYD’s Profit Maybe Down by 95%
From Bloomberg: BYD Co fell the most in a month in Hong Kong trading after the Chinese carmaker partly owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) forecast first-half profit may slump as much as 95 percent. BYD sank as much as 6.1 percent to HK$19.82, the biggest intraday dip since March 26, before trading [...]
Brilliance’s Greater China II concept looks good; hints at future
Brilliance showed in Beijing an updated version of their sedan concept from last year. They make BMWs in China but their own brand didn’t do so well the past couple of years. Some have translated it as the “Greater China” concept, but I’m not sure if this translation is accurate. There’s no official translation, so [...]
Great Wall’s Haval E concept shows its scissor doors
Great Wall showed in Beijing a electric-gasoline hybrid concept, the Haval E. Sporting a panoramic roof and scissor doors, it stood out in Great Wall’s stand. The Haval E uses unibody construction and will replace glass with polycarbonate resin, which is 40 to 60% lighter than glass. Its dimensions are 4390 × 1855 × 1600mm [...]
Aptera 2e to resurrect as a Zap Jonway product?
A familiar oddly shaped car was seen on display next to Jonway’s A380 SUVs in the 2012 Beijing Auto Show: the unmistakable Aptera 2e electric vehicle. The car, which was to be eventually put in production by Aptera was thought to be dead and buried when the California startup went belly up. But apparently Zap [...]
BAIC taking aim at the Germans with C90L luxury sedan
Beijing Auto (BAIC) unveiled a slew of new concepts in this year’s Beijing Auto Show. Most of them look pretty close to production, and ready to ride on BAIC’s M-Trix platform adapted from the Saab 9-3 and 9-5 platforms acquired by Beijing Auto. However, one of them was different. The large 5.2m executive sedan C90L, [...]
Geely shows new Emgrand EX6 concept SUV in Beijing
Geely’s Emgrand introduced a small concept SUV called EX6 at the Beijing Auto Show. Judging from Geely slowly putting previous concepts into production and a reasonably sober design, this one should also see production soon. The EX6 has an aggressive design in the front, sporting a grille reminiscent of the “cheese grater” grille used in [...]
Guangzhou’s green e-Linker concept looks very blue
Guangzhou Auto (GAC) revealed a new electric car concept in Beijing, the e-Linker. This seems to be a new iteration of their previous electric car concept, shown on the right. The AHEV, as it was called, was revealed four years ago in the 2008 Beijing Auto Show. The company currently makes Hondas and Toyotas in [...]
Gleagle GX5 Gains Slight Design Change for 2012
“Nothing here is a concept” is what Geely’s PR Director Victor Yang told me at the Beijing Auto Show in 2010 when Geely put on a massive company changing display of cars from then then not yet produced Emgrand EC7 to the slightly whacky Geely Tiger sports car. I smiled, a lot, and remarked that [...]
Geely McCar On Show in Beijing
Geely’s stand girls were very attentive, possibly the most attentive of the entire show, speaking both Chinese and English they were aiming to please and were on hand to answer any questions. “Would you buy this car?” I asked. “Yes, of course” came the reply from the Geely University educated girl. Geely’s McCar stands for [...]
Lotus Looking for Chinese Buyer
According to Auto Car, the Malaysian owned auto maker is being offered to the Chinese. Here’s hoping Youngman do not get involved. Group Lotus’s new Malaysian-based owner, DRB-Hicom, is actively seeking a Chinese buyer for the troubled engineering group and sports car maker, according to the South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon. Bacon, whose constituency covers [...]
Beijing Government Unhappy with Breasts
Forget the billion RMB price tag cars, Chinese netizens are more interested in the breasts on show than the latest cars at the Beijing Auto Show. China’s Xinhua issued an English release that went out via state media organs catering to English speakers which gave an outline of the authorities distaste with the breasts on [...]
CH Auto unveils Cylent city car concept
Besides the Lithia sports coupe, CH Auto had a small electric city car on display, the Cylent. Both cars were penned after CH Auto hired former GM design manager Dan Darancou to lead their design team. The Cylent weighs 700 kg and measures 2852 × 1585 × 1472 mm (length × width × height), roughly [...]
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