China Auto News of the Week (Nov. 24 - Nov. 28, 2008)

China to ask public about fuel pricing, tax reform

China's cabinet, the State Council, plans to publish details of proposed fuel pricing and tax reforms to solicit public opinion, the government said in a statement on its Web site (www.gov.cn) on Wednesday.

The cabinet, chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, discussed oil pricing and taxation on Wednesday and decided to publish details of reform proposals, the statement said.

"Perfecting the refined oil price formation mechanism and launching a reform of fuel taxation are extremely important for China to boost domestic consumption, promote economic restructuring and standardise fair tax burdens," it said.

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VW planning to make more China-tailored cars

Shanghai, November 24 (Gasgoo.com) Volkswagen AG said it is planning to develop more vehicles such as the Lavida in line with Chinese tastes in future, Automotive News China reported last week.

"More cars are being developed exclusively for the Chinese market," said VW's group vice president in China, adding that they have already done a lot of research to better understand our Chinese customers.

He also denied that making its vehicles more Chinese would make them less German, saying that it would need to integrate the needs of the local customers with our global concept.

As a token of this intention, VW's subsidiary Audi has announced the introduction of a long-wheelbase version of its Audi A4 to the Chinese market.

Big three U.S. carmakers hope for boost in China

Helping the U.S. auto industry is an important issue for the incoming Obama administration, hopefully to be tackled during the lame-duck session.

But the prospects appear slim. The idea of giving out US$25 billion from the $700 billion bailout fund to the ailing big three auto giants -- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -- is stirring up opposition from those who will not allow any more handouts to one particular industry out of the many in need.

With this in mind the Guangzhou Auto Show in China's wealthiest region became the battleground for survival as American carmakers showcased their new models.

SAIC sets up $293 mln hybrid technology JV

Shanghai, November 25 (Gasgoo.com) SAIC Motor Corp Ltd said its board has approved a plan to set up a joint venture with its parent company, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) with a total investment of two billion yuan ($293million), an XFN-Asia report said today. 

In a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the company said the joint venture - Shanghai Jieneng Automotive Technology Co Ltd - will focus on developing key hybrid or electric power technology, such as electric powertrains and transmissions.

Registered capital of the venture will be 600 million yuan, with SAIC investing 540 million yuan for a 90 pct stake and SAIC Motor holding the rest 10 pct stake with an investment of 60 million yuan. The remaining capital will be raised through banks loans and other sources.

Shanghai, November 25 (Gasgoo.com) In a recent interview by auto163.com, Honda President Takeo Fukui said he didn’t think highly of BYD’s research and development of electric cars.

Speaking of the electric vehicle (EV) development, Fukui said as the EV technology is still not mature, it is impossible to push out the electric cars now. The key point is it is hard to solve the problems of battery, especially for the extension of battery life. The existing electric cars now can only reach as far as 100 km, reflecting a difficult situation for mass production and commercialization.

MG5, Roewe 350 to be built in Nanjing in '09

Shanghai, November 26 (Gasgoo.com) The second phase of the MG facility, located in Pukou, Nanjing, has started construction after Chinese auto giant SAIC invested 2.566 billion yuan ($376.24 million), Beijing Youth said today.

Construction of the facility, which is to develop an all-new A-class car platform and the matched small engines, will be completed in 2009, according to Gao Yunhang, assistant general manager of MG sales company. When its construction is completed, the project will get an annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles and 250,000 engines, said Gao.

Great Wall Motor eyes new Russia JV in 2009

Shanghai, November 26 (Gasgoo.com) A Great Wall Motor spokesman said the company is in talks with a major Russian importer for distribution of Great Wall vehicles in the country, a Xinhua report said today.

Shang Yugui told reporters in an interview that cooperation talks with a Russian importer have indeed come to the final stage but he has nothing to declare at the moment.

The report said the ongoing talks may end in the two parties jointly building a joint ventue for assembly of Great Wall's Hover SUV and some sedan models. More details are expected earlier next year.

Guangzhou Auto delays IPO on slowing sales

Shanghai, November 27 (Gasgoo.com) Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., the Chinese partner of Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., has delayed plans for an initial public offering (IPO) due to slowing cars sales and plunging stock markets, said Shanghai Securities News today. However, Guangzhou Auto will move ahead with its plan to launch its own-brand cars by 2010.

China's stock regulator has restricted IPO approvals to halt a sharp decline in the country's stock market this year. Growth of cars sales in the world's second-largest auto market also slowed to 10% in the first 10 months, less than half the pace for the whole year of 2007, as a cooling economy stunted demand.

Fiat asks for joint venture permit in China

Shanghai, November 28 (Gasgoo.com) Italian automaker Fiat has submitted its request to China's top economic planning body to forge a joint venture automaker in China, the Jinghua newspaper reported Friday, citing a Fiat source saying.

The unnamed source said Fiat submitted two joint venture projects with Chery Automobile Co and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co (GAIG) respectively and expected the deal to be approved as early as next month.