Beiqi Foton Jan.-Apr. sales hit 250,730 units, up 41%
Shanghai, May 17 (Gasgoo.com) Beiqi Foton Motor Co., China's biggest maker of commercial vehicles, sold nearly 800,000 vehicles in April 2010. Sales in the first four months were 250,730 units, up 41.1% from a year earlier, according to the company's sales report.
The report shows that medium-duty trucks and the large- and medium- size buses posted the largest growths in April sales, of which sales of the latter (including the non-complete vehicles) were 224 units, and surged together by 165.1% to 1,434 units year on year.
(Click the title to read the full article)
Guangzhou-Fiat JV to make Chrysler Jeep in Changsha
Shanghai, May 17 (Gasgoo.com) Guangzhou Automobile Group Co (GAC) is expected to produce Chrysler's Jeep at its Changsha-based joint venture with Italian carmaker Fiat SpA, local media reported.
Fiat now owns a 20% share in the restructured U.S. carmaker Chrysler Group LLC, and the share could eventually grow to 35%. Fiat's new venture in China is planning to focus on more locally produced, competitive models, including the Chrysler Jeep.
VW China April sales up 34% to 163,000 vehicles
Shanghai, May 18 (Gasgoo.com) Volkswagen AG said yesterday that its sales in its leading market, China, grew 34% from a year earlier to around 163,000 vehicles in April, media reported.
In the first four months of 2010, Volkswagen's sales in China totaled 620,500 vehicles, up 53% year on year and representing a new record level, but slower than the first-quarter sales growth of 61%.
Jiangling Motor to spend $88 mln to expand capacity
Shanghai, May 18 (Gasgoo.com) China's automaker Jiangling Motor, a commercial van partner of Ford Motor, has announced a plan to invest 600 million yuan ($87.9 million) this year to expand capacity, media reported yesterday, citing the company's top executive.
According to Wang Xigao, chairman of Jiangling Motor Corp., the investment aims to expand the capacity of the company's stamping, painting and spare parts factories. The expansion will lift Jiangling's annual production capacity to 210,000 vehicles.
BYD set to sell electric car e6 in U.S. for $40,000
Shanghai, May 19 (Gasgoo.com) China's electric car maker BYD Auto is set to starting selling its electric car e6 in the United States later this year, and the BYD e6 is likely to be priced at about $40,000, People's Daily reported today.
On May 17, BYD Auto delivered 40 all-electric e6 cars to the Shenzhen-based Pengcheng Electric Taxi Company in southern Chinese province of Guangdong, making Shenzhen the first Chinese city to have electric taxis in service. BYD plans to put 100 e6 taxis on Shenzhen's roads by the end of June.
Mazda plans new JV with FAW for expansion in China
Shanghai, May 19 (Gasgoo.com) Mazda Motor is planning to set up a new joint venture with Chinese partner FAW Group to boost sales and market share in China, now the world's largest auto market, media reported today.
The plan comes after Mazda and its partner Ford Motor are set to split their three-way joint venture in China with Changan Auto by operating separate JVs with the Chinese automaker. Meanwhile, Mazda's minor role in its partnership with FAW Group has slowed its expansion in the Chinese market.
Geely Auto Jan-Apr sales up 55% to 135,300 vehicles
Shanghai, May 20 (Gasgoo.com) Geely Auto recently announced that the company sold 32,441 vehicles in April, up 7.2% month on month and up 24.7% year on year, media reported.
In the first four months of this year, Geely's vehicles sales grew 55.1% from a year earlier to 135,279 units, achieving 38% of the company's full-year sales target of 400,000 units.
BYD to put 560 e-cars into Shenzhen taxi fleet this year
Shanghai, May 20 (Gasgoo.com) China's electric car maker BYD Auto plans to deliver at least 560 units of its electric vehicle e6 to a taxi-fleet operator in Shenzhen city this year, Bloomberg reported today.
On May 17, the automaker based in the southern boom town delivered 40 all-electric e6 cars to the city's Pengcheng Electric Taxi Company, making Shenzhen the first Chinese city to have electric taxis in service. BYD will deliver another 60 e6 cars by the end of June and 460 units or more in the second half of the year.
Shanghai to extend 'cash for clunkers' program
Shanghai, May 21 (Gasgoo.com) Shanghai plans to extend its subsidies for the city's car owners to trade in high-polluting old vehicles for energy-efficient, greener new cars until the end of this year, local media reported today, citing the city's commerce commission.
By December 31, car owners in Shanghai will be able to get subsidies ranging from 3,000 yuan ($440) to 7,500 yuan if they replace their outdated vehicles with cleaner new cars. The old vehicles include mini vans, light commercial vehicles and heavy-duty trucks that fail to meet China-I emission standards.
Toyota China capacity boosted to 820,000 vehicles
Shanghai, May 21 (Gasgoo.com) Toyota Motor and its Chinese partner FAW Group started operation of their joint venture's new plant in southwestern Sichuan province on March 19, raising the Japanese auto giant's production capacity in China to 820,000 vehicles, Xinhua News reported.
The new plant for Sichuan FAW Toyota Motor, involving 3.6 billion yuan ($527 million), is located in Chengdu Economic and Technological Development Zone. The news factory will produce 30,000 units of Toyota's Prado model annually, compared to 13,000 units at the former plant.
