Dongfeng Motor set to launch own-brand Aeolus S30

Shanghai, July 16 (Gasgoo.com) Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd (0489), the largest listed automobile company in China, plans to launch its first own-brand sedan, the Aeolus S30, in Beijing on July 22, local media reports said.

The automaker said that it has already received more than 5,000 orders for the car since booking started in early June.

The Aeolus S30 will be powered by a 1.6-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine and 5-speed manual transmission developed by its Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën joint venture (JV) or an automatic transmission developed by Japanese supplier Aisin Seiki.

The car is estimated to carry a dealer's price between 80,000 yuan (US$11,713) and 110,000 yuan depending on different specifications.

Dongfeng Motor Group's vehicle sales rose 25.71 percent in June from a year earlier to 101,482 units, and the company aims to achieve 1.4 million unit sales this year through both its own-brand and JV.

An employee walks past Fengshen S30 sedans parked near the assembly line at a factory of
Dongfeng Motor Corp. in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province in this June 30, 2009. (Photo: AP)