London black taxi's chassis to be produced in China
Shanghai, March 22 (Gasgoo.com) Manganese Bronze, manufacturer of the iconic London black cab, plans to axe 60 jobs by moving chassis production to China and is set to sell control of the company to Chinese car maker Geely Group, the Birmingham Post reported recently.
The Coventry-based firm already largely manufactures in China and will cease production of TX4 bodies and chassis in the Midlands region later this year. Its Coventry operation, LTI, will now assemble the black cabs after parts are made in Shanghai. Manganese has 48% share in its China venture with Geely, Shanghai LTI, which makes cabs for global markets.
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Zhengzhou Nissan set to produce two SUV models
Shanghai, March 22 (Gasgoo.com) Nissan Motor will reorganize auto production in China starting April 1, and will shift its two SUV models' production (from Dongfeng Nissan) to Zhengzhou Nissan, Bloomberg reported today, citing a Japanese newspaper.
As Dongfeng Nissan, the passenger car unit of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. (DFL), Nissan's joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group, will start making two models of compact cars, production of two Nissan-brand SUV models will be shifted to the Zhengzhou Nissan, the Nikkan Kogyo newspaper said.
Brilliance China may record substantial loss for 2009
Shanghai, March 23 (Gasgoo.com) Brilliance China Automotive Holdings (1114.HK), a Chinese partner of BMW, said on Friday that it expected to record a substantial loss for 2009 due to a one-time loss on the sale of the Zhonghua sedan business, media reported.
The company said the loss was due to certain write-off and operational losses from the Zhonghua sedan business because the sales volume of Zhonghua sedans did not reach the break-even level due to a change in product mix, according its filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Beiqi Foton truck set to roll into Australian market
Shanghai, March 23 (Gasgoo.com) China's major commercial vehicle manufacturer Beiqi Foton Motor is set to sell its trucks in the Australian market after signing Western Star Trucks Australia on as the local distributor of Foton trucks, Australasian Transport News (ATN) reported yesterday.
The Foton brand is already a force in its domestic market, Western Star Australia Managing Director Paul Glavac said. Foton Motor is the largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in China and the world's second largest (after its partner Daimler AG). The Chinese CV company sold 602,021 vehicles in 2009, up 47%.
Guangzhou applies to be new energy vehicle pilot city
Shanghai, March 24 (Gasgoo.com) Yesterday, authoritative sources in the local auto industry revealed that Guangzhou city is now applying for the Energy-Saving and New-Energy Vehicle Pilot Program and will possibly be among the seven candidate cities. Under this favorable policy, the hybrid Camry, BYD’s dual-mode electric vehicle F3DM, Guangzhou Automobile New Energy Bus and other Guangzhou Auto produced new energy vehicles have made according plans for this project.
The list of 13 energy-saving and new-energy vehicle pilot cities published by the central government last year included Shenzhen, but Guangzhou was screened out. The State Council Executive meeting held at the end of last year decided to increase the number of the pilot cities to 20. Guangzhou has a great opportunity to be one of them, the relevant authoritative source in the industry said.
BMW expects to sell 100,000 cars in China this year
Shanghai, March 24 (Gasgoo.com) BMW AG, the world's biggest maker of luxury cars, expects its sales in the Chinese market to rise by a "strong double-digit" percentage and exceed 100,000 vehicles this year, media reported recently, citing the company's top executive.
Riding on its sales growth in China and other emerging markets, BMW plans to deliver more than 1.3 million vehicles worldwide this year and sell more than 2 million cars and SUVs by 2020. The carmaker is forecasting a "sharp" gain in profit in 2010 as a revamped 5-Series sedan wins buyers in BMW's big markets, including China.
GM unveils new concept car EN-V today in Shanghai
Shanghai, March 24 (Gasgoo.com) General Motors today unveiled a new concept car named EN-V in Shanghai, Reuters reported. GM hopes this car may help boost the company's eco-friendly image and better explore the clean-energy vehicle segment in China, now the world's biggest auto market.
GM showcased the "Electric Networked-Vehicle" (EN-V) at a pavilion that it will share with its China joint venture partner, SAIC Motor Corp, during the World Expo to be held in Shanghai from May through October.
Geely financially ready for Volvo acquisition, operation
Shanghai, March 25 (Gasgoo.com) Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is set to buy Swedish car brand Volvo from Ford Motor, with a final agreement to be signed by the end of this month, and the buyer has completed its fundraising for this transaction, media reported this week.
A recent Financial Times report said that Ford may sign the deal with Geely as early as this weekend during the visit of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to Sweden. The report quoted anonymous sources as saying Geely will pay $1.8 billion for Volvo and pump in an additional $750 million as working capital.
Dongfeng trucks to be assembled in Serbia this year
Shanghai, March 25 (Gasgoo.com) Serbia's truck-maker Fabrika Automobila Proboj (FAP) will start assembling China's Dongfeng trucks by the end of the year, local media reported this week.
Representatives of Chinese Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle Company will arrive in Serbia next week to discuss the steps for this cooperation, said Head of the FAP Development Sector Miroslav Matovic. An agreement on business technicalities will be signed in May, and the action plan will be drafted by December.
Yulon may suspend electric car production in Taiwan
Shanghai, March 26 (Gasgoo.com) Taiwan's automaker Yulon Motor Co. said yesterday that the company may suspend its plan to produce electric cars locally and instead start production in China's mainland, as the island's authorities lack an overall electric car development plan, local media reported.
Taiwan has put forward a three-year, 3,000 unit plan as an incentive for its automakers to develop electric cars locally, but the plan seems unrealistic, said Yulon Motor General Manager Chen Kuo-rong, because 3,000 units are too few to allow any automaker to start commercial production, given the high cost of batteries in particular.
Chery Auto's 2 millionth vehicle rolls off line today
Shanghai, March 26 (Gasgoo.com) Chery Auto had its 2 millionth vehicle, a Rely SUV, roll off the production line this morning and became China's first independent automaker with output breaking the 2-million mark, Xinhua News reported.
Chery Auto, based in Wuhu city of eastern China's Anhui province, produced its first car on December 18, 1999. It took the company more than seven years to produce 1 million vehicles, but only two and a half years to double the output.
