China Auto News of the Week (July 27 - July 31, 2009)

Shanghai, July 31 (Gasgoo.com) PSA Peugeot Citroen, France's largest carmaker, may form a second joint venture in China, part of its plan to boost overseas sales and take on industry leaders such as Volkswagen, Toyota and Honda, Philippe Varin, its new chief executive, told Financial Times on Wednesday.

"While Peugeot's main priority would be growing within its existing joint venture, the company is now also considering taking a second one, "Mr Varin said.

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Buffett earns $1 bln on China's hybrid maker BYD

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. earned a $1 billion paper profit from an investment it agreed to make in Chinese carmaker BYD Co. less than a year ago.

The automaker has jumped fivefold in Hong Kong trading since the deal was announced on Sept. 27, helped by Buffett's investment and rising demand for fuel-efficient vehicles. Three days earlier Berkshire agreed to an investment in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. that has since generated a paper profit of about $2 billion.

State-owned Guangzhou Auto signs JV deal with Chinese private automaker

Shanghai, July 30 (Gasgoo.com) China state-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. (GAC) has signed a framework agreement with Zhejiang Gonow Auto, a private-owned pickup manufacturer, on building a 50:50 joint venture in the east China city of Hangzhou, according to Chinese media reports.

Miao Xuezhong, president of Gonow Auto, told Sina.com that the company did reach an initial agreement with GAC on a JV deal but the two sides are still working on details.

GM China July sales increasing 70%-plus

General Motors Co., the largest overseas automaker in China, is heading for a 70 percent-plus increase in local sales this month on the back of government stimulus measures and a rebounding economy.

July sales will be about 140,000 vehicles, GM China President Kevin Wale said in an interview in Shanghai yesterday. The final figure will be announced next week.

Beijing gives Geely go-ahead to buy Volvo Car unit

Shanghai, July 29 (Gasgoo.com) Geely Holding Group has been given the go-ahead by China's main economic planning agency on its bid for Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo unit, the Shanghai Securities Journal reports Wednesday.

The report said Geely has received the confirmation letter from the National Development and Reform Commission on oversea acquisitions, becoming the only Chinese automaker that has won official confirmation on such deals.  

Shanghai VW may boost capacity at Nanjing plant

Shanghai, July 29 (Gasgoo.com) Shanghai Volkswagen, a joint venture company between Volkswagen Group and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), is considering plans to expand production capacity at its fourth car plant in Nanjing to help it meet growing car demand in China, the 21st Century Business Herald reports Wednesday.

According to the report, senior VW executives who work on quality control have gone to Nanjing for a factory tour. And if decided, the automaker would increase the plant's capacity by 200,000 vehicles to 500,000 vehicles a year for production of a high-end model codenamed "NMS".

Dongfeng Nissan JV to expand new PV plant

Shanghai, July 29 (Gasgoo.com) China's third-biggest automaker Dongfeng Motor Group said its joint venture with Nissan Motor would spend 5 billion yuan ($732 million) to expand a new passenger vehicle plant in China to meet rising car demand, media reported today.

The factory, based in southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, will have an annual capacity of 240,000 vehicles, the automaker said yesterday. The expansion, due to be completed in 2012, will raise the Dongfeng Nissan venture's total capacity to 700,000 vehicles a year. Dongfeng said the expansion will safeguard the mid- and long-term business plan of its joint venture.

Geely rolling out Emgrand EC7 model today

Shanghai, July 28 (Gasgoo.com) Geely Holding Group Co will hold be rolling out the first model of its Emgrand EC7 series today, gasgoo.com said. As the company's another all-new brand after the Geagle, the "luxury, steady, dynamic" Emgrand represents Geely's ambition of creating a new era.

The first model of the Geely Emgrand EC7 series - the Emgrand EC718 sedan - is expected to be delivered to the market in mid-August, with a retail price between 80,000 yuan ($11,700) and 100,000 yuan. The Emgrand EC718-RV hatchback will also go to the market soon next month.

China H1 auto import down 34%, export falls 60%

Shanghai, July 27 (Gasgoo.com) China's auto imports slumped 34 per cent year on year during the first half of 2009 to 141,000 units, while exports plunged 60.21 per cent to 142,400 units, statistics released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) showed, reports Asia Pulse.

Sun Yong, deputy general manager of China Automobile Trading (CATC), said that vehicle imports have dropped because ports and auto dealers had built a large inventory by the end of last year.