China Auto News of the Week (June 9 - June 13, 2008)

Skoda Octavia China sales hit 60,000 units one year after launch

by Ally 

Shanghai, June 10 (Gasgoo.com) Skoda Auto has sold nearly 60,000 units of Octavia in China since it hits the Chinese market on June 6 last year, Beijing Morning Post reported today.

Shanghai Volkswagen-Skoda said that it aims to sell 68,000 Skoda brand vehicles in 2008. In the second half of 2007, the joint venture automaker fulfilled its sales target by selling 31,802 Octavia cars and in the first quarter of this year, it sold more than 17,000 units.

Also, Skoda's Fabia model is expected to be introduced to China at the end of the year and, according to Volkswagen Vice President Detlef Witting, Fabia will surpass the Octavia model in China and then surpass the same model's sales in Russia once its manufacturing begins in China.

Brilliance, BMW to form auto finance joint venture

By George Gao

Shanghai, June 10 (Gasgoo.com) An auto finance joint venture invested by BMW and its Chinese partner Brilliance Auto will be formed later this year, Brilliance Auto chairman said recently. Brilliance has decided to hold 21% stake for the joint financing unit.

According to Brilliance Auto chairman Qi Yumin, the application has been submitted to authorities for approval and the joint venture will share the profits according to their ownership stakes. The auto finance arm will service the Brilliance BMW joint venture. Meanwhile, Brilliance Auto is also mulling over an auto financing unit in conjunction with GE Finance Company to provide financing services to its independent brands.

In addition, the second BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd plant, a joint venture between BMW and Brilliance Auto, will begin construction in the second half this year. The plant, with an annual production capacity of 70,000 vehicles, will be operational by 2010, producing brand-new BMW vehicles. By then, the two sides will share painting and stamping facilities. The second plant will be located in Shenyang and a 20-min car ride away from BMW Brilliance's first plant.

China's Lifan 520 rolls off line in Iran

By Kelly 

Shanghai, June 11 (Gasgoo.com) The first batch of Lifan 520 cars have rolled off the production line in Kerman Motor Co in Iran, according to sources of Chongqing Lifan Industry (Group), a large private enterprise centering on the technology development, manufacture and sales of vehicles and motorcycles in China.

The Lifan 520 manufactured in the Iranian facility will continue to use Lifan brand and will target medium-income Iranians aged between 20 and 35. The selling price is fixed with a high price-performance ratio at $10,000 to $15,000. Kerman Motor Co plant is expected to produce around 5,000 units this year, a sales representative of Iran Lifan Group said.

Uruguay-built Chery vehicles go on sale in Argentina

By Ally 

Shanghai, June 12 (Gasgoo.com) The first batch of 32 unit Uruguay-built Chery Tiggo SUVs went on sale in the Argentine market, local Argentine newspaper La Nacion reported last Saturday.

The report cited Argentine dealers as saying that under the new free trade negotiations made between Uruguay and Argentine, Uruguay is free to export around 20,000 vehicles to Argentine every year, including Chery's Tiggo vehicles locally assembled there.

Chery, through its Uruguay based Socma joint venture, is also expected to sell another batch of Tiggo diesel editions by the end of this year, according to the report.

Great Wall Motor gets first UN order for pickups

By George Gao 

Shanghai, June 12 (Gasgoo.com) Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor has recently received a sourcing order from the United Nations for 28 Great Wall pickups. This is the first time for an own-brand carmaker of China to become a supplier for the U.N. vehicle sourcing.

Tow years ago, Great Wall Motor won the auto sourcing bid of the United Nations from other 19 global automakers. Although only 28 pickups are ordered, this small number means the U.N.'s recognition of Great Wall Motor and China's own-brand vehicles. If the 28 pickups can perform excellently, the U.N. will order a larger batch of Great Wall vehicles in the coming two years, with the sourcing figure estimated at 15,000 units.

Great Wall Motor, located in Baoding, Hebei province, is China's largest maker and exporter of pickups and SUVs. Back in 1998, Great Wall pickups were exported to the Middle East, becoming China's first automaker exporting its cars. In the global market, Great Wall Motor has achieved the biggest export volume of Chinese carmakers for nine straight years. Great Wall pickups and SUVs have sold in 121 countries in the world.

Another executive quits FAW VW within two weeks

By Ally 

Shanghai. June 13 (Gasgoo.com) FAW Toyota's top executive Dong Haiyang has quit the company in the second high level defection from FAW Toyota in less than two weeks, Sina reports, citing company sources.

The report said no further information is available for the time being except that Dong may join Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co.

Dong, 40, has been with FAW Toyota since 1993, and was appointed as deputy general manager at FAW Toyota Sales Co in 2003.

On June 2, Su Weiming, deputy general-manager of FAW as well as general-manager of FAW VW Sales Division in China, left the company, and he is replaced by Hu Yong, the current head of the ninth research institute for FAW.