SAIC to release second Roewe sedan in April

Shanghai. January 24 (Gasgoo.com) - After its Rover75-based Roewe 750 was launched in Chinese market last March, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) started to develop its second Roewe-branded sedan--Roewe 550. The sedan is set to debut at the upcoming Beijing Auto Show this April and go on sale in June, Xinhua News Agency reports today.

 

Priced at 120,800 Yuan to 160,000 Yuan (US$16,575-22,099), Roewe 550 is set to compete with models like Mazda3, Honda Civic, Ford Focus and VW Sagitar. It is 4,624 mm in length, 1,827 mm in width, 1,480 mm in height and has a wheelbase of 2,705 mm. The turbocharged engine could turn out a maximum of 118 kW.

 

"Roewe 750 absorbs the advanced Rover technology, but this car (Roewe 550) is definitely a technology innovation by SAIC on its own. It's based on a brand new platform, very different from Rover," said an unnamed SAIC official.

 

Roewe 550 is independently built by SAIC's technology center in Anting, the west suburbs of Shanghai. The automaker said that the center, together with its design workshops in Nanjing, Korea and UK, will develop about local brand models.

 

Road-test for the car has already been finished.