China Auto News of the Week (Oct. 27 - Oct. 31, 2008)

Ford China taking steps to weather tough times

Shanghai, October 27 (Gasgoo.com) Ford Motor Co., the second-biggest U.S. automaker, is taking steps to maintain a healthy growth in the Chinese market, the Economic Observer reported today, citing a company's senior executive.

"Despite the financial crisis in its home market, Ford has no plan to change its marketing strategies in China and will continue to pursue further development of its local operations in the world’s second largest auto market, "Xu Guozhen, vice president for Ford Motor (China) Ltd.

One step forward is that Ford is expected to introduce the EcoBoost technology and EcoBoost four-cylinder engines into China, said Xu.

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FAW Car to invest $345 mln in own-brand cars

FAW Car, a unit of Chinese automaker FAW Group Corp, said on Monday it planned to invest 2.36 billion yuan ($345 million) to bolster its internally developed car brands.

The investment will add 200,000 units of annual capacity for its own-brand cars by 2012, it said in a statement.

Annual capacity for its own-brand cars is currently 120,000 units, a company executive said.

Mitsubishi Motors to set up joint venture in China

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and trading house Mitsubishi Corp. said Monday they will set up a fifty-fifty joint venture in China to import and sell vehicles of the Japanese automaker.

Aiming to meet growing demand in China, the two companies said they plan to establish the new company, Mitsubishi Motor Sales (China) Co., in Shanghai in April 2009 with a capital of 3 billion yen, after obtaining approval from Chinese authorities.

In China, Mitsubishi Corp.'s local unit had been importing and selling Mitsubishi vehicles since 2005.

FAW Toyota breaks ground for new Changchun plant

Shanghai, October 28 (Gasgoo.com) Sichuan FAW Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (SFTM), a joint venture between Toyota Motor and China FAW Group, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday for its new, 4 billion yuan ($584 million) plant in Changchun city, Jilin Province, Reuters reported.

Approximately 200 people, including Changchun municipal government officials, FAW President Xu Jianyi and SFTM President Haruaki Hoshino, attended the ceremony in the Development Zone of the Automobile Industry in Changchun.

The plant, Toyota's sixth with FAW, will have an annual production capacity of 100,000 units, with the Corolla cited as the model intended for manufacture, although a production date has not been finalized.

Great Wall Motor to export pickups to Australia

Shanghai, October 28 (Gasgoo.com) After securing a $440-mln order for exporting 4,500 Deer pickups to Cuba, China's automaker Great Wall Motor recently announced that it will export its Sailor and Wingle pickups to Australia, said xinhuanet.com today.

As an important market that sells 1 million vehicles every year, Australia has strict standards for auto imports. Great Wall is well prepared for these standards and its vehicles have met Australia's strict ADR (Australian Design Rule) requirements. In eco-friendliness and safety, the Sailor and Wingle pickup models for export to Australia have been upgraded on the versions sold in the domestic market to comply with the Euro III+OBD standard.

BYD aims to double sales to 400,000 cars in '09

Shanghai, October 29 (Gasgoo.com) BYD Co said it is on course to reach 200,000-unit sales target set for this year and is planning to double this volume next year, a local Chinese newspaper reported.

A source from the automaker told a Hunan-based newspaper that about 300,000 F3 and F0 cars are to be sold next year while the remaining sales will come from the F6 model.

Mini-vehicle giant SAIC-GM-Wuling to make sedans

Shanghai, October 29 (Gasgoo.com) China's major mini-vehicle maker SAIC-GM-Wuling has decided to produce mid-class sedans of U.S. auto giant GM, reported Beijing Times today, citing sources of the company.

An insider has disclosed that SAIC-GM-Wuling Auto Co. Ltd. will introduce two platforms to its West Plant for producing sedans developed by General Motors. The GM sedan model has been delivered to the facility, but the name of the model is now kept in secret."

Changhe Suzuki recalls 23,400 Liana sedans

Shanghai, October 30 (Gasgoo.com) Jiangxi Changhe Suzuki Automobile Co Ltd has decided to recall 23,400 Suzuki Liana sedans starting October 30 to fix the defects of their lamps, said xinhuanet.com today. These cars were made by the joint venture between November 21, 2005 and August 31, 2008.

According to the recall report submitted by Changhe Suzuki to China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ), some of these compact Liana sedans made during that period have front lamp covers made of glass that is not all-weather-proof, ages early and cracks easily. This will lead to the decline of the front lamp light's intensity and endanger the user's night driving of the car. 

Fiat cuts annual sales target in China by 83%

Shanghai, October 30 (Gasgoo.com) Italian carmaker Fiat has lowered its ambitious annual sales target by 2010 in China to 50,000 units from 300,000 set three years ago, down by 83%, Beijing Times said today, citing Fiat China.

"Fiat's target to sell 300,000 cars a year in China by 2010 is now unreachable because of the global financial crisis, "Fiat Group Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne was quoted as saying. Fiat China confirmed that the company has adjusted its annual sales target in China to 50,000 units by 2010, which led to vagueness of the auto giant's joint venture plan in 2010.

BYD Auto sets production and sales plans for 2009

Shanghai, October 31 (Gasgoo.com) An insider for Chinese carmaker BYD Auto said that the company has specified its plans for 2009 production and sales, which include the production of three new models and the self-developed DM (Dual Mode) electric vehicles, and the target of doubling its sales to 400,000 vehicles in the year, said xinhuanet.com today.

The three new models are BYD F8, BYD M6 and BYD S6. The BYD F8 is claimed to be China's first hard-top convertible sports coupe and will go on sale in the first quarter of 2009; the BYD S6 is a large SUV model based on a mid-class car chassis; and the BYD M6 is a medium- to large-size MPV model also based on a mid-class car chassis. BYD said its M6 and S6 are all-new in-house developed models, not derived from its F6 model.

Lamborghini to launch China branch in 2009

Shanghai, October 31 (Gasgoo.com) Italian supercar maker Lamborghini will launch a Chinese branch in Beijing in 2009, Xinhua news agency reported Thursday.

"The decision to establish a branch in China illustrates our dedication to exploring the potential of this market for Lamborghini. Our new regional office will ensure the presence of the brand and further the prosperity of the corporation on a global scale," CEO Stephan Winkelmann said at an event in Beijing yesterday.