Our hearts go out to the victims of Japan's recent earthquake. Let us pray together as we take a look at this week's top news:
Foreign carmakers try brands just for China
Bloomberg Businessweek (March 7) - Chinese tour guide Chen Libin drives about 300 kilometers each day around the Inner Mongolia grasslands for work, so reliability is a key consideration in determining how he'll spend up to 80,000 yuan ($12,153) on a new car. Chen says models by domestic automakers such as Tianjin FAW Xiali Automobile start breaking down after two years, while foreign cars go at least five years without major problems. That's why he's holding on to his aging Xiali A sedan until General Motors (GM) and Honda Motor (HMC) roll out their new China-only cars later this year. "These brands are definitely something I will consider," says Chen of GM's upcoming Baojun and Honda's Li Nian. "Foreign technology offers drivers more comfort, fuel efficiency, and a lower cost of maintenance."
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Weak auto sales split analysts over year's prospects
China Daily (March 8) - China's passenger vehicle sales dropped slightly in February from last year, the first fall in more than two years and giving rise to uncertainty about the entire year's sales.
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BYD's sales dropped nearly 50% in February
Gasgoo.com (Shanghai March 9) - BYD Automobile announced February sales reports of 26,500 vehicles, caixun.com reported earlier this week. The figure represents a staggering drop of near 50 percent from January.
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Warning that Warren Buffett's bet on Chinese copycat BYD could 'backfire'
CNBC (March 10) - A lengthy "special report" by Reuters today warns that Berkshire Hathaway's high-profile investment in BYD, a Chinese electric car maker, could "backfire" on Warren Buffett and his company.
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Top selling automakers for January-February revealed
Gasgoo.com (Shanghai March 11) - China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) recently announced its list of ten most successful manufacturers in January to February of this year, the Beijing Star Daily reported yesterday. Shanghai-based SAIC Motors took the lead, followed by Dongfeng Motor, Changan Automobile, FAW Group, BAIC Group, Chery Automobile, GAC Group, JAC Motors, Brilliance Automotive and Great Wall Motor. The ten manufacturers combined sold over 2.75 million vehicles, constituting 87 percent of the total market.
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Beijing to tighten vehicle emission standards, as automobile number hits 5m
Xinhua (Beijing March 12) - Beijing will apply a stricter emission standard for the city's five million motor vehicles next year to reduce automobile exhaust, the biggest source of air pollution in the Chinese capital, an environmental official said Saturday.
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