Recent Articles
Zhengzhou Nissan to get new models in 2012
Zhengzhou Nissan’s current model line up consists of several of Nissan’s older commercial vehicle products such as the first generation X-Terra (sold under the Paladin name), pick up trucks and of course the relatively new Nissan NV200 mini van. Zhengzhou Nissan’s sales have thus been limited by the models it sells, in 2012 it seems [...]
Ford Ecosport Testing in China
The Ecosport launched in Delhi just last week, but that hasn’t stopped Ford China from delaying the road testing and test production of the micro SUV in the Chinese market. The 1.0T three cylinder SUV will likely prove to be a popular model for the Chinese market when it hits the market in mid to [...]
Hyundai’s first Shou Wang sedan is old Elantra
Concept cars are great, they show the full design capabilities of a companies internal or contracted design studio and sometimes they show where a car company is heading, be it more up market or more down with the kids. When Hyundai launched their Shou Wang brand and also the first Shou Wang sedan the Chinese [...]
Dongfeng-Renault JV to be signed soon, Chinese production of Renault’s happen in 2014-2016
French car maker Renault is apparently closer to signing a dealer with Dongfeng Auto according to Chinese news reports listed yesterday. Nissan-Renault CEO, Carlos Ghosn, made several comments on the future of Nissan in China at the Detroit Auto Show, Ghosn expressed that Dongfeng would soon become a major partner to Renault in the Chinese [...]
Infiniti’s Stretched M-Series to Launch in June
Infiniti are trying their hardest to claw their way up the luxury segment sales chart, they currently fall around the bottom of the chart and only really out sell Acura products in the Chinese market, 2010 sales were just over 10,000 units whilst Audi sales in the same year were over 220,000 and in 2011 [...]
Automakers prefer the US market for profit
From Bloomberg: Three years after sales tumbled to the lowest in more than a quarter-century, the U.S. auto market may be emerging as the safest bet for predictable and profitable growth as China, India and Brazil slow. “The U.S. is now the high-growth market in the world as much as India or China,” said Xavier [...]
Encore for the Buick Encore in Detroit – and in China
This week the Chinese automotive media are on holiday, the vast majority of media outlets have sent their teams over the Pacific to the America’s mo-town to cover the Detroit Auto Show. Chinese journo’s have given the new Ford Fusion a great deal of coverage and also the new Buick Encore, a compact SUV that [...]
BAIC’s Electric MPV Sighted Ahead of Production
Beijing Auto Industry Works (BAIC) has an uphill battle on its hands, the state owned car company is relatively late in getting its own brand of vehicles to the market when compared to its rivals at FAW and SAIC, both of whom have been running their own brands for a number of years. BAIC was [...]
Morgan Motors Cars Calls Beijing Home
The Chinese auto industry only produces big figures which has enticed nearly every major car company the world, but the market isn’t only limited to the largest, the small players are also heading to China. The British car company Morgan Motor Company Limited has appointed its first dealer in Beijing, the new dealership will be [...]
Chinese Company Buys Ferrati – the Italian Boat Maker
Chinese M&A’s of foreign OEM car manufacturers may not be happening as fast as everyone predicted, but it seems that the boating and yachting industry is undergoing its own round of buyouts: From the NYT: The machinery maker Shandong Heavy Industry Group sealed a deal Tuesday to take a 75 percent stake in the debt-laden [...]
A Stretched Four Cylinder BMW 3 Series? Only in China.
The BMW 3-series is one of BMW China’s top selling vehicles but sales could be better if you use the Audi A4L as a measuring stick. The A4′s stretched wheel base makes the car more attractive to those that wish to be chauffeur driven rather than self driven which is a lot of potential buyers [...]
Dongfeng-Honda to enter MPV arena with Elysion
Dongfeng-Honda are to enter the business use MPV arena with the Elysion MPV according to Chinese media reports, the Elysion already had its first airing at the Guangzhou Auto Show earlier late last year and will be hitting the production lines in June 2012 according to media reports. The Elysion will be entering an already [...]
At 30,900RMB the Chery QQ is still China’s Cheapest Car
Alright, we’re open to discussion on the cheapest car moniker as there were some Suzuki Alto based mini cars being sold for a mere 20,000rmb a while back but those models are likely to have been end of production stock, the QQ3 is the real deal. The QQ3 has been on the market since 2003 [...]
Subaru XV to launch in China on Feb 15th
Subaru have high hopes for the Chinese market, in 2010 they cleared sales of 75,000 units but for 2011 they sensibly lowered their forecasts to 60,000 units – a number they likely easily achieved. The Subaru China line up currently consists of the Legacy range, Outback and also Forester, the Impreza models were not competitive [...]
Next Generation BYD F3 Aired Ahead of Beijing Launch
The BYD F3 has been BYD’s bread and butter for the past four years, the humble sedan was mocked as a Toyota Corolla clone when it first hit the market but it soon became BYD’s best selling vehicle, and then it became China’s best selling vehicle, then sales dropped off like a lead brick. Why [...]
First Chevrolet Volt Handed Over in China
The first Volt’s were shipped to China several weeks ago, the first one was handed over today. Except nobody bought it. GM handed over one car to the Electric Car Testing Center in Jiading district of Shanghai earlier today, the center has several electric and new energy cars where consumers can try before they buy, [...]
Ford’s 2011 Sales Up 7% in 2011
Ford sold 519,390 vehicles in 2011 according to end of year statistics released today, the Blue Oval’s sales rose by 7% in 2011 when compared to 2010′s sales figure of 483,288 vehicles. Strong December sales rose the company’s total sales figure considerably with just shy of 50,000 vehicle sold in the 12 month of the [...]
GM sold one car every 12 seconds in 2011
GM’s lead in the Chinese car market can be measured in seconds according to a press release from GM China, GM were once again the biggest volume selling manufacturer in the Chinese market with a new car or van sold every 12 seconds, or yearly sales of 2.54 million vehicles – an increase of 8% [...]
2011 in Review – the good, the bad, and the forthcoming
This week is statistics week, luxury auto manufacturers totted up their 2011 China sales last week as their volumes were much smaller and they were largely without joint venture partners numbers were obviously easier to crunch, this week joint venture companies and local companies alike will be rolling out their statistics, tomorrow the official yearly [...]
Next Generation Santana has its Pigu Leaked Online
The Santana is practically an automotive celebrity in its own right in the Chinese market, the car kicked open the Chinese car market with a hefty kick to the door in 1984 when it was the first foreign car to be made in China (The Cherokee deserves this title, but the govt classified SUV’s and [...]
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