SAIC Motor sees 2010 sales growth slow to 10%
March 08 (Reuters) SAIC Motor Corp, China's biggest automaker, expects its sales to increase by over 10 percent this year, sharply lower than its growth in 2009, as the market slows down.
SAIC, which produces cars in joint ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen in China, is likely to sell at least 3 million vehicles this year, its president Chen Hong said on Sunday.
(Click the title to read the full article)
BYD to start selling electric cars in Europe next year
Shanghai, March 8 (Gasgoo.com) Chinese automaker BYD Co. plans to start selling electric and hybrid cars in western Europe next year to cash in on rising demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, Bloomberg reported today. This move is to follow its U.S. sales which will start later this year.
The first batch of BYD models to hit the European market will include the E6 electric car, said company spokesman Paul Lin. The carmaker, based in southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and 10% owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., may finally design and build cars in Europe.
Audi China Jan-Feb sales up 86% to 31,906 cars
Shanghai, March 9 (Gasgoo.com) In the first two months of the year, German luxury car maker Audi sold 31,906 cars in China, up 86% year-on-year, Dow Jones reported today. January sales grew faster than February as car sales were weak during the Lunar New Year holiday (on Feb 13-19).
Audi AG's sales chief Peter Schwarzenbauer said yesterday that China might overtake Germany as the luxury car maker's largest single market this year. Audi previously expected China to become its largest sales region in 2012 at the earliest. Audi sales in Germany rose only 1.7% to 27,304 cars last month.
Passenger car sales in Feb up 55% to 942,900 units
Shanghai, March 9 (Gasgoo.com) China's passenger-car sales in February rose 55.3% from a year earlier to 942,900 units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said today, media reported.
Febuary sales of cars, MPVs and SUVs slowed from January, as buyers stayed away during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday which fell on mid-Feb this year but on late-Jan last year. Sales grew 115.5% in January to 1.32 million cars, according to the industry association.
SAIC Motor Feb sales up 45% to 248,000 vehicles
Shanghai, March 10 (Gasgoo.com) China's largest automaker SAIC Motor said its vehicle sales in February rose 45% from a year earlier to 248,000 vehicles, compared with 307,384 in January when sales were up 90%, media reported.
"Slower growth in February was because of the week-long Chinese Lunar New year holiday," said an analyst. "Most people usually buy cars well before the holiday, which explains the explosive growth in January." The Chinese New Year fell in mid-Feb this year and in late-Jan last year.
BYD likely to set up U.S. plant and HQ in California
Shanghai, March 10 (Gasgoo.com) China's electric car maker BYD Co. may build an assembly plant and open its North American headquarters in Los Angeles County, California, MarketWatch said today.
The possible BYD plant may cover more than 1 million square feet and create hundreds of jobs. The location of the headquarters could be announced within the next few months, while any decision on an assembly plant would follow, according to a local report.
Geely gets financing to buy Ford's Volvo for $2.1 bln
Shanghai, March 10 (Gasgoo.com) Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, parent of Geely Auto, has secured financing to buy Ford Motor's Volvo unit for about $2.1 billion, Reuters reported today, citing a Swedish business daily.
Sources told Dagens Industri that Chinese financial institutions and regional government bodies had provided the money for Geely to complete its Volvo purchase.
China's Feb auto prices rise 1.49% to 4-year high
Shanghai, March 11 (Gasgoo.com) China's auto prices in February rose 1.49% from a year earlier, the most since late 2005, as government incentives encouraged more consumers to buy new cars and trucks, Bloomberg reported today, citing the country's top economic planning agency.
China sold 1.21 million vehicles in February, up 46% from a year earlier, after the government extended subsidies for vehicle trade-in and for rural purchases. Prices may moderate as demand growth slows, according to the National Development and Reform Commission's vehicle monitoring division.
Toyota drops from China's top 10 in Feb car sales
Shanghai, March 11 (Gasgoo.com) For the first time in years, Toyota dropped from the top 10 list of the best-selling cars in the Chinese market last month amid the Japanese carmaker's recall crisis, China Daily reported Tuesday.
FAW Toyota, the Japanese automaker's joint venture in China's FAW Group, disappeared from the Top 10 sales list in February, according to data released by China Passenger Car Association.
Geely Feb sales up 54.2% y/y to 28,712 vehicles
Shanghai, March 12 (Gasgoo.com) Geely Auto said this week that its sales February grew 54.2% from a year earlier to 28,712 units, Bloomberg reported.
The February sales, however, dropped 35% from the previous month as buyers stayed away during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday in the middle of the month. Over the first two months, Geely sold 72,589 vehicles, up 95.5% year on year.
BYD F3 leads China Feb sedan sales at 21,300 units
Shanghai, March 12 (Gasgoo.com) China's passenger car sales in February rose 55.3% from a year earlier to 942,900 units, and the BYD F3 was the top-selling sedan model during the month, close to 21,300 units, media reported.
Campared with January sales of 1.32 million (up 110%), car sales in the Chinese market were slightly down in February due to the week-long Lunar New Year holiday and the slightly shorter month. However, the BYD F3 has come to top the ranks yet again, probably thanks to BYD's fame for making high-quality, low-price cars.
