China Auto News of the Week (Mar. 23 - Mar. 27, 2009)

Shanghai, March 27 (Gasgoo.com) Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor Co plans to display 12 own-brand models at the 2009 Shanghai auto show in April, state media Xinhua reported.

According to the news agency, three Great Wall SUVs still being developed will make their public appearance at the Shanghai show. They include Hover M1 driven by a 1.3L engine, Hover H5 powered by a 2.4L engine and Hover M3, a five-seat compact SUV.

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Geely buys Australian transmission maker DSI

Shanghai, March 27 (Gasgoo.com) Chinese home-grown automaker Geely Automobile Holdings said in a statement that it has signed an agreement today to acquire Australian auto-parts supplier Drivetrain Systems International (DSI), according to Geely's press release obtained by Gasgoo.com.

Executives of both companies have attended the signing ceremony held at the government house of New South Wales, Australia, the Chinese automaker said.

Dongfeng releases own-brand Fengshen sedan

Shanghai, March 26 (Gasgoo.com) DongFeng Motor rolled out its own-brand Fengshen sedan model today and will display this mid-sized car at the upcoming 2009 Shanghai auto show in late April, state media said today.

The Fengshen model is built on a modified version of Dongfeng partner Citroen's long-gone ZX platform and is powered by a 1.6-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine with an output of 105-horsepower. The 4,5-meter-long Fengshen car was designed by DongFeng's own technology center with the help of Italdesign.

Beijing Hyundai makes 09's 100,000th car today

Shanghai, March 26 (Gasgoo.com) Beijing Hyundai had its 100,000th car of this year rolling off the production line this morning. The "100,000th Yuedong (Elantra)" means that the joint venture has made 100,000 cars in less than three months this year.

Mid-size sedans have been the heavyweight products of Beijing Hyundai, with its Elantra once acclaimed as "the king of family sedan." Built upon the successful Elantra, the Yuedong model has attracted more buyers with its roomy space, ample configurations, superb performance and splendid look.

China raises gasoline, diesel prices by 3-5%

Shanghai, March 25 (Gasgoo.com) China started to raise gasoline, diesel prices today by 3% to 5% to reflect climbing crude oil prices, Xinhua news agency reported, citing China's top economic planning ministry.

The benchmark gasoline price was raised by 290 yuan ($42) a ton to 5,730 yuan, and diesel by 180 yuan a ton to 4,990 yuan, effective today.

Chery Auto to build 100,000-unit plant in Turkey

Chinese carmaker Chery Auto plans to set up a new car manufacturing plant in northwestern Turkey, an executive of the company said on Thursday.

Chery Turkiye Sales Director Gokhan Altmisdort said that Chery aims to manufacture 100,000 cars a year in its new plant.

Wonder-CT&T venture rolls out first electric car

Shanghai, March 24 (Gasgoo.com) Jinzhou Wonder Motor Co. Ltd, one of the subsidiaries of Wonder Auto Technology Inc, rolled out its first electric car on Monday at its joint venture plant with Korea electric car maker CT&T in the northeast China city of Jinzhou, reports Gasgoo.com.

The company announced at a launching ceremony on Monday that the first electric car unit, jointly developed with Korean CT&T for road testing, has rolled out of the production line as scheduled, with batch deliveries expected to begin from June 2009.

VW, Toyota eye 25% of China '09 PV market

Shanghai, March 24 (Gasgoo.com) Volkswagen Group and Toyota Motor Corp together plan to sell 1.7 million passenger vehicles in China in 2009, accounting for one fourth of the 6.5 million passenger cars estimated to sell in the Chinese market this year, the Beijing Morning Post reports.

Volkswagen AG said its two Chinese ventures -- FAW-Volkswagen Automobile Co. and Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co. -- will produce at least 10 new models in the 2009-2010 periods to help it achieve sales target of 1.06 million units planned for 2009.

Chery intends to build up partnership with JAC

Shanghai, March 23 (Gasgoo.com) The restructuring and revitalization plan of automotive industry has been officially released recently. In addition to the rural subsidy policy, fuel-efficiency and new-energy vehicles scheme, domestic brands program, the plan has triggered an industry's trend of mergers and acquisitions via setting up new infrastructure system of electric vehicles and emphasizing the status of heavy-duty trucks, Shanghai Securities News reported today.