Ford China H1 sales up 53% to record 301,524 units
Shanghai, July 5 (Gasgoo.com) Ford Motor said today that its vehicle sales in China grew 53% from a year earlier to a record 301,524 vehicles in the first half of the year, boosted by robust demand for clean cars and rapid growth at its commercial vehicle venture, Dow Jones reported.
Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., a three-way joint venture between Ford Motor, Changan Auto and Mazda Motor, sold 205,563 vehicles in the first half, up 46% from a year earlier, Ford said in a statement.
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Chery Auto opens national auto-test center in Wuhu
Shanghai, July 5 (Gasgoo.com) China's independent carmaker Chery Auto launched a national auto test center on July 3 in its home base Wuhu city, eastern Anhui province, putting Asia's largest auto-tech test center into operation, Xinhua News reported today.
The auto test center, called Chery Automobile Test & Technology Center, also houses China's first ever "national laboratory of automobile energy efficiency and eco-friendly engineering." The state-of-the-art center will become the incubator for Chery's new technology and new products.
Dongfeng PSA JV to build 3rd plant by year end
Shanghai, July 6 (Gasgoo.com) French carmaker PSA Peugeot and its Chinese partner Dongfeng Motor Group have finally nailed down some details about their third plant in China. Recent sources said construction of the plant will start at the end of this year.
Reportedly, Dongfeng and PSA will each launch a new model in China every year, expecting to raise the joint venture's share in the Chinese market to 5% from the current 3.5% in two-three years. By 2015, PSA will import 12 new models into China. Apart from that, PSA says it has started its research and development in global small cars, aiming to benefit from the emerging markets like China and Latin America.
Jiangling Motors to spend $147M to expand capacity
Shanghai, July 6 (Gasgoo.com) China's automaker Jiangling Motors, a commercial van partner of Ford Motor, has announced a plan to invest 2.13 billion yuan ($147 mln) this year to build a new plant for capacity expansion and sales growth, media reported yesterday, citing the company's statement.
The new plant will be located at the Xiaolan industrial zone in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, where Jiangling Motors is based. The project is designed to have an annual capacity of 200,000 units of vehicles, with a maximum capacity of 300,000 units.
Geely's acquisition of Volvo okayed by EU
Shanghai, July 7 (Gasgoo.com) European Union regulators on Tuesday approved Chinese carmaker Geely to buy Sweden's iconic Volvo Cars.
The European Commission said it sees no antitrust problems with Zhejiang Geely Holding Co.'s $1.8 billion acquisition of Volvo Cars from Ford Motor Co. because the takeover won't give either company the power to damage rivals.
BYD making F3 sedan in Russia with local partner
Shanghai, July 7 (Gasgoo.com) Chinese automaker BYD Co. has started assembling its cars in Russia, the company's local partner TagAZ announced yesterday.
TagAZ said it has completed assembly of its first BYD F3 sedan at its plant in Taganrog, southern Russia. Mass production will begin this summer, with sales in Russia to be handled by the TagAZ dealer network.
About 60% of China's carmakers fail in H1 sales targets
Shanghai, July 8 (Gasgoo.com) China's vehicle sales hit another record high in the first half of this year, with half of the 17million-unit annual target achieved, and China remains to be the world's first in total auto sales, but not every carmaker did a great job.
Geely to base Volvo China HQ, R&D in Shanghai
Shanghai, July 8 (Gasgoo.com) China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, who is buying Volvo Cars from Ford Motor, said today that it will locate Volvo's China headquarters, R&D center and production base in Shanghai's "auto town", media reported, citing a local official.
The Shanghai International Automobile City (SIAC), which is situated in Anting, Jiading district, about 25 kilometers from downtown Shanghai, is already home to Shanghai VW, the car-making venture between SAIC Motor and Volkswagen AG. Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC), China's largest automaker, is also based there.
China's auto sales this year may hit 17.5 mln units
Shanghai, July 9 (Gasgoo.com) Despite a recent market slowdown, China's full-year vehicle sales in 2010 are expected to reach 17.5 million units, with demand to be boosted government's subsidies, media reported today, citing an industry association.
China's vehicle sales in the first half of the year surged 30.45% from a year earlier to 7.18 million units, the China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATRC) said earlier this month. First-half sales of passenger cars rose 25.6% to 5.42 million.
Peugeot creates new Chinese JV with Changan today
Shanghai, July 9 (Gasgoo.com) French automaker PSA Peugeot-Citroen and China's Chang'an Automobile Group formed a joint venture today to make passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, media reported.
This new joint venture, to be based in southern China, is the French carmaker's second Chinese partnership. PSA Peugeot-Citroen already has a joint venture in central China with Dongfeng Motor Corp for producing its Citroen and Peugeot cars. The new move will help PSA tap more into the Chinese auto market, now the world's largest.
