GM in talks for 44% stake in SAIC-GM-Wuling venture
Shanghai, June 21 (Gasgoo.com) To expand its growth in the Chinese market, General Motors is in talks with the local government of SAIC-GM-Wuling for higher stake in this minivan joint venture in China, media reported recently.
The U.S. auto giant is talking with southern China's Guangxi regional government to raise the company's stake in the venture to 44% from the current 34%, with SAIC controlling 50.1% and Wuling Motors owning 5.9%.
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Toyota, Honda may slow exports of China-made cars
Shanghai, June 21 (Gasgoo.com) China's decision to allow greater exchange-rate flexibility may slow the plans of Toyota Motor and Honda Motor to export Chinese-made vehicles as the Chinese currency appreciates while the Japanese carmakers' suppliers in China raised wages to end strikes, Bloomberg reported today.
In a statement on June 19, China's central bank said that it will allow the yuan more flexibility, signaling an end to the currency's two-year-old peg to the dollar. The currency climbed the most in 20 months against the dollar and forwards jumped.
BYD, Société Générale Group to build auto financing firm
Shanghai, June 22 (Gasgoo.com) Chinese automaker BYD Co. (01211.HK) announced yesterday that it has signed a contract with Compagnie Generale de Location D'equipements (CGL), an affiliate of Société Générale Group to build an auto financing company in Shenzhen, China.
The registered capital of the new joint venture is 500 million yuan ($73.5 million), of which BYD Co. will provide 400 million yuan and the rest will be contributed by Compagnie Generale de Location D'equipements, BYD said in a statement.
Mazda and Besturn to stop sharing production line
Shanghai, June 22 (Gasgoo.com) FAW's second plant, which is at present in the early commissioning phase, will be going into operation in October this year, media reported recently. By that time, all models of Besturn (Benteng), including the B70 and B50, will be transferred to the second plant for production. This move will change Besturn's current sharing of the same production line with Mazda 6.
Dongfeng Yueda Kia to launch three new models in H2
Shanghai, June 23 (Gasgoo.com) Media reported that Dongfeng Yueda Kia is set to launch three new models in the second half of this year, including a modified Cerato (Sailatu) with a new black interior, a small modified Forte (Furuidi) model and a heavyweight new vehicle SLC, which joined hands with Sportage (Shipao) in making Kia SUV famous.
In the first five months, DF Yueda Kia's accumulated sales volume had a year-on-year growth of 94%, to 135,800 units, outperforming the market average by three times.
Beijing Auto may block BYD-Daimler partnership
Shanghai, June 23 (Gasgoo.com) Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., Ltd.'s (BAIC) reportedly will withdraw from or delay its planned acquisition of Fujian Daimler, and this might block Daimler's partnership with BYD Co, the National Business Daily reported this week, citing a BYD source.
BYD Co., Ltd. and Daimler AG signed a contract May 27 to form a 50-50 joint venture that will develop a new green-car brand for the Chinese electric vehicle market. The JV project, which may eventually include a car-manufacturing plant, is awaiting the Chinese government's regulatory approval.
Chinese-made VW CC to launch in mid-July
Shanghai, June 24 (Gasgoo.com) Volkswagen's China venture FAW-VW will hold a launch ceremony for the Chinese-made CC car in Shanghai on July 15 this year. The new four-seat, four-door CC car is expected to be sold for less than 320,000 yuan ($47,000) in the local market, similar to the same level Audi A4L comfort model, media reported lately.
SAIC rolls out 10,000th Roewe 350 at Nanjing plant
Shanghai, June 24 (Gasgoo.com) SAIC Motor's 10,000th own-brand Roewe 350 car recently rolled off the production line at its Nanjing plant, located in the Pukou district of Nanjing city, Jiangsu province, China. The monthly output of the plant has reached 6,000 vehicles at present, Nanjing Daily reported yesterday.
Geely to boost Volvo annual China sales to 150,000 by 2015
Shanghai, June 25 (Gasgoo.com) Ever since Zhejiang Geely Holding Group signed a deal at the end of March with Ford Motor Co. to acquire the U.S. auto giant's Volvo car unit for $1.8 billion, all the attention has been given to the Volvo brand's future in China in the industry.
Facing the extraordinary challenge to make the Volvo brand one of the successful and profitable luxury car brands in China's auto market, Geely has now worked out a five-year plan for the development of the Volvo brand in China. Under the plan, Volvo China annual sales will reach 150,000 units by 2015, a person familiar with the matter said today.
GM-SAIC India JV to produce Wuling minivans in 2011
Shanghai, June 25 (Gasgoo.com) As its Chinese partner SAIC has already acquired 50% stake in GM India, General Motors bets on Chinese products to boost its sales in the Indian auto market by locally producing Wuling minivans first next year, local media reported.
The first products from General Motors' three-way mini-van joint venture in China with Wuling and SAIC will be introduced in India by the end of 2011 when it will roll out two minivan models: Wuling Rongguang and Sunshine. These will be built at GM India's Talegaon and Halol plants.
