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Category: Chinese manufacturers

  • Spyshots: Chery B13

    Spyshots: Chery B13

    Chery_b13 Here are the spyshots of the Chery MPV called B13 due to be unveiled next month at the Beijing Motor Show

    Little by little, Chery is building a complete lineup. The B13 had been displayed as a concept car at the 2006 Beijing Motor Show. Since then, news remained scarce and observers believed the MPV was whisked off as it’s the tradition among Chinese carmakers.

    Cheryb13 If the concept car featured rotating seats for the second row with table, the production version appears to be more conventional favouring roominess. However, the overall treatment is still heading for the top of the segment with leather upholstery and wood panels. The spotted B13 also featured a drop down DVD player from the roof.

    Chery_02 Technically, the B13 will be powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre four cylinder petrol engine hooked up to a six speed automatic gearbox. The B13 is expected to go on sale from May.

    Source: Chinacartimes

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  • FAW unveils the Bentung A501

    FAW unveils the Bentung A501

    Bentung_01 The Chinese carmaker FAW has unveiled the A501 saloon under its luxury brand Bentung.

    Bentung_02 FAW had announced its intention to launch a luxury brand last year. The initial plan was to launch a saloon and a compact model. If the saloon has been launched, the new car won’t be a compact model but a saloon called A501.

    Bentung_03 The new saloon has been designed by ItalDesign Giugiaro and confirms the good impression given by the other model. Details remain scarce on the car specification although it is known that is available with a choice of two petrol engines, a in-house 1.6-litre unit and a Mazda 2.0-litre unit.

    Source: Chinacartimes

  • SAIC in talks with Karmann to build the Roewe 550

    SAIC in talks with Karmann to build the Roewe 550

    Roewe_550 SAIC has entered into talks with Karmann to build the European Roewe 550.

    SAIC is holding talks with the german coachbuilder Karmann, in order to build the future Roewe 550 set to compete on the European market. This comes a surprise as the SAIC owns the Longbridge since the company has bought the other Chinese carmaker NAC MG.

    It is true that Longbridge encounters serious difficulty to put into production the MG TF which has been delayed for months, but calling Karmann for help is  the sign British workers didn’t really expect form SAIC.

    The Roewe 550 will spearhead the launch of the carmaker in Europe. The carmaker might also bring the rumoured SUV which will likely be a re-badged Ssangyong model.

  • Roewe to conquer Europe?

    Roewe to conquer Europe?

    Roewe_1 Chinese carmakers are used to changing their mind regularly. One day, the announce that they will conquer the world next year. The day after, they say that they won’t go overseas before 2012. SAIC doesn’t breach the rules of etiquette.

    The carmaker has announced that the new Roewe 550 would be sold under the Roewe badge in Europe. But earlier, the had announced that the new model would be built in the UK and sold as the MG 5.

    Which version to believe is a difficult exercice. However, the 550 is confirmed to be sold in Europe. The car looks rather appealing and might meet a certain success if sold at a good price. Powered by a former Rover 128bhp turbocharged 1.8-litre petrol unit, the 550 will feature a navigation system, six airbags, an ESP, a type pressure monitoring system and 17in alloy wheels. The car is rumoured to cost around £15,000.

  • Spyshots: Chang’an CV8

    Spyshots: Chang’an CV8

    Cv8_1 The car you see here is likely to be unknown to you as the saloon is the future Chang’an CV8 which will hit the showrooms sometime this year.

    Cv8 The Chang’an CV8 is a conventional saloon smaller than the Ford Focus which features a tame design although it doesn’t really borrow any styling cues from other carmakers. In a way, the CV8 offers the usual design we can find today in the saloon segment.

    Cv8_4 The car will be powered by a 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre petrol engines whose final spec remains unknown. Along the two petrol engines, the carmaker will also offer a turbocharged 2.0-litre diesel unit. Codenamed JL486Q, it comes with the modern bits you find today in European diesel powertrains: multivalves, twin overhead camshafts, but its injection system remains unspecified.

    Vc8interior1 The Chang’an CV8 will offer a modern equipment on the topping version such as GPS, air conditioning and reversing sensors.

    Source: Chinacartimes

  • SsangYong to unveil hybrid diesel at Geneva

    SsangYong to unveil hybrid diesel at Geneva

    Ssangyong South Korean carmaker SsangYong will unveil a new diesel hybrid powertrain at the Geneva Motor Show which it claims delivers a 30 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency.

    SsangYong is held at a stake of 51 per cent by the Chinese carmaker SAIC. The company’s engineers likely took inspiration from the hybrid Buick Lacrosse model developed in partnership with GM.

    Details are pretty scarce today and more information will be available at the show next week.

  • Top 10 in China in January

    Top 10 in China in January

    Wallpaper_3_1024_768 Petrol-Head reported the sales data for the month of January on the Chinese market. This time, here is the list of the top 10 sellers in China.

    Volkswagen takes the frist and the second rank thanks to the Jetta and the antediluvian Santana. The Hyundai Elantra arrives surprisingly at the third rank, followed by the successful Buick Excelle which will be renewed in April. Toyota also put the ubiquitous Corolla and Camry in the top ten.

    1. VW Jetta – 25,100 sales
    2. VW Santana – 19,800
    3. Hyundai Elantra – 18,000
    4. Buick Excelle – 16,700
    5. Tianjin Xia Li – 15,300
    6. Chery QQ – 15,100
    7. Toyota Corolla – 15,000
    8. Toyota Camry – 12,600
    9. Ford Focus – 12,300
    10. VW Sagitar – 11,600

  • Ford, Mazda and ChangAn to invest £29 million

    Ford, Mazda and ChangAn to invest £29 million

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    Ford has announced it will invest £29 million in China with the help of Mazda and ChangAn to boost sales on the Chinese domestic market.

    The investment will boost the joint venture’s registered capital to more than £175 million. Ford will provide £10 million, ChangAn £14 million and Mazda £5 million. As usual in China, the Chinese partner holds 50 percent of the joint venture. Fold and Mazda holds 35 percent and 35 percent respectively.

    Chang’an Ford Mazda’s sales rose by 60% to 271,100 vehicles last year. After opening a new factory in last September, the three-way joint venture production capacity jumped to 410,000 units. Despite the recorded growth in 2007, Ford is far behind other carmakers. The carmaker’s rivals broke into the market earlier and have already established their brands among China’s growing consumer class.

    Ford’s Focus compact became one of the 10 best-selling cars in China last year, but the company’s profit margins were slimmer than some of its competitors’ because many of the parts used to build the Focus are still made outside China.

  • Chery to replace the controversial QQ3

    Chery to replace the controversial QQ3

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    Chery engineers are working hard to release this year the planned models: A6 CC convertible, A5 estate, the small QQ5. They still found time to replace the controversial QQ3. The future QQ2 is expected to be unveiled at the next Beijing Motor Show in April of this year.

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    Aware of the bad brand image of Chinese cars generated by catastrophic crash tests, Chery focused on improving the safety of the future small car. The bonnet has been redesigned to take into account pedestrians. The QQ2 will offer a choice of three petrol engines, 1.0-litre, 1.1-litre and 1.2-litre.

    There will also be a 1.0-litre diesel unit on the menu. The QQ2 will become the first Chinese passenger car to be powered by a diesel engine. Actually, Chery doesn’t exepct the oil burner unit to meet a big success in China, but look at the European shores. The Chinese carmaker plans to launch the QQ2 in Europe next year.

  • China January sales

    China January sales

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    Despite the worst winter storms in half a century increasing the number of car accidents, China passenger vehicle sales soared to 639,000 vehicles in January, a 32 percent increase over the same period last year.

    Saloons accounted for three-quarters of the January figure, while sport utility vehicles (SUV) sales jumped 60.5 percent year on year to 32,000 units, nearly twice as fast as the industry average.

    Passenger vehicle production was up 14.5 percent year on year to 566,000 units. This included 423,000 sedans, 35,000 SUVs and 14,500 mini-vans.

    With domestic oil prices rather low and a growing rank of nouveau riche, consumers tastes change and the demand for small cars weakened while demand for imported high-end cars remained strong. 81 percent of imported SUVs and 70 percent of imported saloons had engines larger than 2.5-litres, both up 20 percentage points from a year earlier.

    Source picture: NYTimes