China Auto News of the Week (June 15 - June 19, 2009)

Ford to move Asia headquarters to China

Shanghai, June 19 (Gasgoo.com) Ford Motor Co. confirmed yesterday that it will move its headquarters for the Asia, Pacific and Africa regional headquarters to China from Thailand, xinhuanet.com reported.

Ford didn't disclose which city has been selected, although published reports suggest Shanghai will likely become home to Ford's new Asia-Pacific headquarters. "Our leadership team, with supporting corporate functions, will be moving to China," said Ford spokeswoman Whitney Foard Small.

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Webasto Sunroofs boosts production capacity in China

Shanghai, June 19 (Gasgoo.com) Webasto Sunroofs Inc, one of the world's leading suppliers of sunroofs and parking heaters, broke ground on a new facility at Minhang district of Shanghai, on Thursday.

Mr. Masaru Otsuka, President of Webasto Asia Pacific region and Mr Brett Healy, President of Webasto's North American subsidiary, attend the ground breaking ceremony.

Beijing Auto sees new hope in bidding for Opel

Shanghai, June 18 (Gasgoo.com) Beijing Automotive Industry Corp (BAIC) remains still be on the list of bidders for German carmaker Opel, after the Chinese carmaker was granted access to the troubled firm's accounts information, German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported today.

Opel's US owner General Motors had agreed to the request by Beijing Auto, the paper said. BAIC was reportedly due to begin the process of due diligence in the coming days. The next step would then be for BAIC to make a binding offer to the bank charged with the sale of Opel, Dresdner Kleinwort.

Honda increases production and sales network in China

Shanghai, June 18 (Gasgoo.com) Honda Motor Co., Japan's No. 2 automaker, said on Wednesday that it plans to increase production and sales network in China to meet booming demand there, Japanese media 'Sankei shinbun' reported.

Honda wants to increase production capacity in China by 8.5 percent from 2008 to 510,000 units this year and add 30 dealers, which will boost its total number of dealers in China to more than 700.

FAW Group, Brilliance Auto in merger talks

Shanghai, June 17 (Gasgoo.com) FAW Group and Brilliance Auto are in talks for merger and restructuring, and FAW is expected to buy controlling stake in Brilliance, the 21st Century Business Herald reported today, citing sources familiar with the matter.

"This matter has not taken shape yet," a planning executive of FAW Group said to reporters, not denying the merger talks news. Actually, Brilliance Auto, BMW's partner in China, was approached in August 2008 about a possible takeover by larger rival FAW Group, though they later denied having any discussions about a merger.

Liu to replace Socia as Shanghai GM's exec VP

Shanghai, June 16 (Gasgoo.com) General Motors announced today that Joseph Liu will replace Robert Socia as executive vice president of Shanghai General Motors, the U.S. automaker's flagship Chinese venture, Dow Jones reported.

Liu is now GM Asia Pacific's vice president for sales and marketing, and he will take on his new post on July 1. Socia will become GM's vice president in charge of global purchasing and supply chain, GM (China) Investment Co. said in a statement. Socia will replace Bo Andersson, who has left GM to pursue other career opportunities.

BYD to sell F3DM car to individual users in Sept

Shanghai, June 16 (Gasgoo.com) BYD Auto said yesterday that it has decided to sell its F3DM electric car to individual customers starting September this year, Beijing Times reported. Before that time, the F3DM sedan is sold only to corporate customers.

BYD Auto, a subsidiary of BYD Co, has started a nationwide marketing tour to promote its plug-in hybrid F3DM sedan. BYD's F3DM (dual mode) compact sedan is a plug-in hybrid that uses the company's lithium-ion batteries as well as power from charging stations or power outlets.

Huarong Asset invests in Chery Auto, eyeing IPO

Shanghai, June 15 (Gasgoo.com) China Huarong Asset Management Corp. confirmed on Saturday that it invested 300 million yuan ($43.93 mln) to take a stake in Chery Automobile Co., and plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) within the next three to five years, xinhuanet.com reported today.

Huarong Asset didn't give the size of its stake in the automaker. Earlier this month, Chery Auto raised a total 2.9 billion yuan in capital from domestic investors, including the asset clearing agency as well as Bohai Industrial Investment Fund Management Co., CDH Investments, and a Shenzhen-based investment fund.

Beijing Auto has reasons to fail in Opel, Saab and Volvo bid

Shanghai, June 15 (Gasgoo.com) Beijing Automotive Industry Holding (BAIC), China's fifth-largest carmaker, has reasons to fail in Opel, Saab and Volvo bid, and it will not engage in such talks for the time being, reported China Business News on Monday, quoting a company source familiar with the situation.

The source told the newspaper that BAIC will not hold such talk anymore because the foreign automakers are not really interested in it.

Tengzhong: Hummer deal to be inked in Q3

Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery, the surprise bidder for General Motors Corp's Hummer brand, said on Sunday the deal should be concluded in the coming quarter.

Little-known Tengzhong, which emerged earlier this month as a candidate to acquire the Hummer brand from bankrupt GM, also said it has no plans to transfer Hummer equipment and technology to China from the United States, or to take on any debt accrued by the business.