China Auto News of the Week (Sep. 16 - Sep. 19, 2008)

State Grid to build electric car charging stations

Shanghai, September 16 (Gasgoo.com) State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), the largest electric power transmission and distribution company in the world, has instructed its subsidiaries to speed up construction of electric car charging stations in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin and other large cities in the country, said xinhuanet.com today.

After the power charging stations for electric cars are built in several big cities as a pilot project, these stations will serve the electric buses and electric sedans in a trial run. The nationwide coverage of the charging station network will be launched as soon as possible if the pilot project operates well enough and gets approved by the nation's top economic regulator, said a sales executive with the State Grid. The cost of building an electric car charging station is estimated at 250,000 yuan ($36,600) to 300,000 yuan.

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China confirms appealing WTO auto parts ruling

Shanghai, September 16 (Gasgoo.com) The Ministry of Commerce confirmed it is appealing the World Trade Organization ruling against China's auto parts import tariff regime on Monday.

"China cannot completely agree with the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB)'s report and ruling after careful investigation, and it is looking forward to a fair ruling from the panel this time,” the ministry said on its official website.

DSB has between 60 and 90 days to come up with a new report following China's appeal. However, AFP cited EU trade commission spokesman Peter Power as saying that while China had this final right to appeal, he was confident the original verdict would stick.

GM begins construction of $250 mln R&D center in Shanghai

Shanghai, September 17 (Gasgoo.com) GM on Tuesday began the construction of a new $250 million corporate campus in Shanghai, which includes a research and development center that will focus on study of alternative fuels.

The GM Campus, which covers 120,000 square meters in Jinqiao Export Processing Zone in the city's Pudong New Area, will house its China and Asia Pacific headquarters alongside the GM Center for Advanced Research and Science, according to Shanghai Daily.

The new facility will spur exploration of alternative fuels, advanced alternative energy compulsion systems and manufacturing and supply energy efficiency through local cooperation.

China 2008 sales of 10 mln vehicles hard to reach

Shanghai, September 17 (Gasgoo.com) China vehicle sales may fall short of a sales forecast of 10 million units this year as consumers' buying power are undermined by slowing economic growth and the slumping stock market, said xinhuanet.com yesterday, citing an industry association.

The latest data from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) show that China's vehicle sales of 629,000 units in August dropped by 5.53% from July, down 6.34% from the same period of last year, the first year-on-year (y/y) sales decrease since 2006. There were 615,500 vehicles produced in China last month, down 15.9% m/m, down 3.5% y/y.

Infiniti EX35 goes on sale in China today

Shanghai, September 19 (Gasgoo.com) Nissan Motor Co, Japan's third-largest automaker, said it has begun selling its luxury sport-utility vehicle today in the Chinese market, in a bid to grab a bigger slice of the nation's fast-growing luxury car market.

The Japanese carmaker will sell the Infiniti EX35 SUVs through its dealer networks with a price tag of 427,000 yuan ($62,482) and 647,000 yuan on different specifications, the Nissan's unit said at a launching ceremony held at 10:00 am this morning in Beijing.

"We have been taking China as the second largest luxury car market for Infiniti brand second only to North America, and thus the China business is crucial for Infiniti's global expansion," said Mr. Yukihisa Kayashima, President of Nissan (China) Investment Co, at the ceremony.

FAW may abort Audi A6 killer Hongqi C601 model

Shanghai, September 18 (Gasgoo.com) FAW may have stopped developing its Hongqi C601, a premium sedan model to rival Audi A6, largely because the Chinese auto giant has failed to reach any deal with Audi about the introduction of Audi's platform and technology for this Hongqi model, said xinhuanet.com today.

The Hong C601, first displayed at the 2006 Beijing auto show as a concept car, was oriented to the Chinese luxury sedan market, mainly used as the government car. With a length of 4,886mm and a wheelbase of 2,850mm, the Hong C601 sedan was once rumored to be priced between 250,000 yuan ($36,550) and 350,000 yuan and scheduled to go on sale in late 2007.

Global auto glass giant launches Foshan facility

Shanghai, September 18 (Gasgoo.com) Japan's Asahi Glass Co., Ltd, a global giant maker of automotive glass, has kicked off the operation of its wholly-owned facility in Foshan, Guangdong province, reported Guangzhou Daily yesterday. The Asahi Glass plant, its second in China, will supply for Japan's auto joint ventures in the southern Chinese province.

Asahi Auto Glass (Foshan) Co., Ltd., whose construction started in early 2007, will produce the laminated and tempered automotive glass. The facility can reach an annual output of 1 million car sets after its operation started in mid-August this year, and will conveniently supply for the auto glass demands of three major Japanese carmakers for their Guangdong-based joint ventures: Guangzhou Honda, Guangzhou Toyota, and Dongfeng Nissan.

Four-way tie-up to boost Chinese auto sales in US

Shanghai, Sept 19 (Gasgoo.com) - American Automotive, a Greenwich, Conn.-based company, signed a contract today to team with three German technology-supporting companies. The tie-up will offer "professional and one-stop" service that helps Chinese automakers to sell cars in North America and other overseas markets.

The three partners are-TUV Rheinland Group, MBtech Group (China) and Weiss-Voetsch (China). Along with American Automotive, each of the companies has its expertise in offering technology and consulting support for automakers and component suppliers.