China Auto News of the Week (Sep. 22 - Sep. 27, 2008)

SAIC opens 150,000-unit plant with Roewe 550

Shanghai, September 22 (Gasgoo.com) Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation Group (SAIC)'s new 150,000-unit production facility in Shanghai went into operation last Friday, with the first batch of its own brand car - Roewe 550 rolling off the assembly line at the plant.

The 1.2 million-square-meter plant is located in Lingang Industrial Zone, 75 kilometers south of downtown Shanghai, and cost 2.9 billion yuan (US$424.2 million), said Chen Zhixin, executive vice president of SAIC Motor, to the local newspaper Shanghai Daily.

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China works with Canada on hydrogen fuel cell tech

Shanghai, September 22 (Gasgoo.com) China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) of four-year validation on technology cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), most.gov.cn said on Friday.

The MOU puts emphasis on the hydrogen fuel cell technology for the two sides at the initial stage cooperation, and other priority areas will also be explored for other parts that may interest the two sides. A Steering Committee will be founded by MOST and NRC according to the MOU to hold conferences annually on the project of cooperation.

August vehicle sales drop 40% m/m in Beijing

Shanghai, September 23 (Gasgoo.com) Beijing's auto market suffered a big slump in August when only 45,000 new and second-hand vehicles were sold, down nearly 40% month on month, reported Beijing Morning Post today. Usually the last four months of a year are the peak sales season in the car market, but this year the sluggish market is hard to change for the better.

Statistics show that last month Beijing had 28,000 new vehicles registered for the license, down 45% from July and down 21% from one year earlier; the license registration of 17,000 second-hand vehicles represented a decrease of 49% month on month, and a drop of 40% year on year. 

Zotye 5008 model launched at Chengdu auto show

Shanghai, September 23 (Gasgoo.com) The Zhejiang-based automaker Zotye Holding Group Co launched its new Zotye 5008 model and also unveiled its new model logo at the ongoing Chengdu auto show, auto.sina.com said yesterday.

The auto show held in earthquake-stricken Chengdu after Beijing Olympics has drawn wide attention. On September 19, Zotye rolled out its new Zotye 5008 model at Chengdu auto show. Priced at between 55,900 yuan ($8184) and 64,900 yuan, the Zotye 5008 is available in four versions with a choice of 1.3L and 1.5L. Zotye sales director Ying Yijun announced the retail prices of Zotye 5008 models as follows:

Dongfeng Peugeot 2nd plant to make Peugeot 407, 607

Shanghai, September 24 (Gasgoo.com) Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co., Ltd. (DPCA) will soon complete construction of Platform 3 in its second facility, which is expected to make new Peugeot and Citroen models, including Peugeot 407 and 607, said xinhuanet.com today, citing a top executive of the joint venture.

Tang Teng, deputy general manager of DPCA, recently told reporters that most of the vehicle models to be made by the company will come from the French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen. The second plant of DPCA will make Peugeot 407 and 607 models and other mid- to high-end vehicles to meet the rising demands for different cars in China's auto market.

Honda Acura sales in China to double this year

Shanghai, September 25 (Gasgoo.com) Based on its good performance and strong confidence in the Chinese market, Honda Motor (China) Investment Corp expects to see the sales of its Acura model more than double in 2008 up to 3,000 units from last year's 1402 units, said xinhuanet.com today.

The Honda Acura is a newcomer to the China's luxury car market and has to boost its brand recognition here. Currently, three Acura models are available in the China market, priced between 400,000 yuan ($58,500) and 700,000 yuan. In China, Acura sold 1,402 units in 2007 and 1,350 units in the first half of 2008, with the Acura MDX, as luxury SUV, as the bestseller (976 units sold last year).

VW to bring Scirocco Sports Coupe to China in Nov

Shanghai, September 26 (Gasgoo.com) German manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) will bring its Sports Coupe "Scirocco" to the Guangzhou Auto Show in late November and will announce its official introduction of the model in China at the show, Beijing Times said yesterday.

The Scirocco is expected to come to China by import earlier than the six-generation Golf which shares the same platform with Scirocco. The production edition of Scirocco, which was shown at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show, inherits the original design of its concept Iroc first displayed at the 2006 Paris Auto Show.

Beijing set to limit car license plates for clean air

Shanghai, September 27 (Gasgoo.com) Beijing is taking new measures to keep the Chinese capital's air clean and traffic smooth as seen during the Olympic season. According to the new series of traffic rules, only 100,000 vehicle license plates will be issued each year in the capital city, and that means half of car dealers in Beijing will go out of business, said xinhuanet.com today.

As part of the emergency steps for the 2008 Olympics, the even-odd license plate number regulations to keep alternatively half vehicles off Beijing's roads from July 20 to September 20 brought clean air and blue sky to the city for two months, and raised public hopes for a permanent improvement. Those steps reduced levels of most major pollutants in Beijing by about half, but now Beijing residents are worried the old levels of smog will return.