China Auto News of the Week (Dec. 8 - Dec. 12, 2008)

VW changes management at Shanghai venture

Shanghai, December 12 (Gasgoo.com) Volkswagen has appointed Jorn Hasenfuss the deputy managing director and commercial executive director of Shanghai Volkswagen, effective January 1, 2009, according to Volkswagen's press release.

Hasenfuss will replace Dieter Seemann, who will become a vice-president for finances at Seat, a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen.

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Tensions may push Citroen sales down in China

Shanghai, December 11 (Gasgoo.com) President Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting with the Dalai Lama has infuriated China and will unavoidably strike a further blow to the Chinese business of French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen, which is already struggling with a protracted sales slump this year, according to media reports.

Talk of "boycotting France" spreads over China's Internet lately due to the French president's erroneous act. Mr Yang, a car owner, told China Business Herald, "I'm disgusted with French brands now and will never buy any one of them in future."

Ford: no talks on selling Volvo to Changan

Shanghai, December 10 (Gasgoo.com) Ford and China's Changan Automobile Group have not talked about selling Volvo Car to the Chinese automaker though Ford executives did meet with Changan officials, Wall Street Journal Asia reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The source said Ford just met with Changan officials to inform them "as a courtesy" that Ford was looking for a Volvo buyer.

Ford on Tuesday officially declined to comment on a Chinese newspaper report that Changan, one of its two Chinese joint venture partners, might buy Volvo. "It will take some months to assess all of our available options," the company said.

Shanghai, December 10 (Gasgoo.com) Volkswagen's joint ventures in China are planning to cut more than 15 working days of production from mid-December until the beginning of January, a report from Sohu.com said today.

Citing an informant, the report said Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co, a joint venture between Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) and Volkswagen AG, has decided to make the provisional halt, which will lead to production decrease by some 20,000 units during that period.

Chrysler China confirms ending of Chery deal

Shanghai, December 10 (Gasgoo.com) Chrysler China confirmed today that Chrysler LLC has put off the deal with Chinese automaker Chery Auto to build small cars, said Gasgoo.com, citing a reply from the U.S. automaker's Shanghai agency.

Chrysler International Corporation Shanghai Rep. Office said both Chrysler and Chery have gone through major internal changes and evolution in the past year, resulting in different business directions and priorities than one year ago.

Chery Auto has no plan to buy U.S. auto assets

SHANGHAI, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Chinese car maker Chery Automobile Co has no plan to buy U.S. auto assets, its chairman was quoted as saying by state media on Tuesday.

Chery, which secured a 10 billion yuan ($1.45 billion) bank loan from the China Import-Export Bank this week, will use the money to improve its product quality rather than buying auto assets in the United States, Yin Tongyao told the Shanghai Securities News on the sidelines of a company event.

Italy's ADR-RPF launches axle plant in Qingdao

Shanghai, December 8 (Gasgoo.com) Italy's ADR-RPF Group launched production at a new axle plant in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao, Shandong province, a report from the official Xinhua news agency said Sunday.

Covering a land area of 55,000 square meters, the plant involves total investment of $13 million and will produce many things from parts to finished products, from semi-axles to off-road axles.

CEOs: Big-3's China operations unaffected by U.S. crisis

Shanghai, December 8 (Gasgoo.com) CEOs of General Motors (GM), Ford and Chrysler's China divisions said their respective operations in the world's second largest market are gaining profitability on the back of a steady sales growth, and these businesses are unlikely to be affected by their home market crisis, the Xinhua news agency reported Sunday.

Kevin Wale, president and managing director of GM China said GM's operations in China will not be affected substantially by its U.S parent's current situation.

China to levy 1-yuan-a-lit fuel tax from Jan 1

Shanghai, December 8 (Gasgoo.com) China plans to levy a fuel tax of one yuan ($0.15) per liter starting Jan. 1, according to a draft plan produced jointly by its several ministries, state media reported. In addition, the government has also decided to abolish toll fees on 60% of the toll roads in the country.

According to the new fuel tax plan unveiled on Friday, vehicle owners in China would be required to pay the tax on gasoline being raised from 0.2 yuan to one yuan per liter, and diesel tax going up to 0.8 yuan from 0.1 yuan per liter. The plan, scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, adds that six toll fees, currently being charged for road or waterway maintenance and management, would be completely scrapped.