China Auto News of the Week (Aug. 4 - Aug. 8, 2008)

Beijing to boost taxi services at Olympic areas

An official with the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG) had said the committee would increase taxi services at major Olympic areas in cooperation with the city transportation authority, local media reported Thursday.

Yu Chunquan, Director of the Transportation Department of the BOCOG, made his remarks in response to an Australian journalist who expressed his worry about the insufficiency of taxi services at media villages.

According to Yu, the BOCOG had issued special permits to a limited number of taxis to maintain sufficient services at every Olympic venue.

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Government orders reduction in small car taxes

Shanghai, August 4 (Gasgoo.com) China's State Council on Saturday issued a statement ordering local governments to cut consumption taxes on small cars and raise tax on luxury vehicles with high emissions, in an effort to encourage energy conservation and environmental protection.

Again no details on the tax revision was revealed, but according to an internal plan obtained by West China City Daily, the tax rate on small cars with a displacement below 1.0-liter might be reduced to 1% from the original 3%.

Figures from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers say sales of small cars only accounted for 6% of the overall market, down 1.4% from one year earlier, and this number is expected to continue to dwindle this year.

China auto fuel imports to fall in Olympics month

China will import less transport fuel in the month of the Olympics as domestic refiners raise output to ensure stable supply and as stockpiling slows amid a drop in crude oil prices, a Reuters survey showed.

The country will import 530,000 tonnes of diesel for August, almost 40 percent below last month’s 860,000 tonnes, trade estimates showed, and off the 962,000-ton peak seen for June.

Gasoline imports for this month are seen at 210,000 tons against 300,000 tons for July and the record of 339,000 tons for May, when the country turned a net petrol importer for the first time ever.

Audi Q5 imported to China market in early 2009

Shanghai, August 5 (Gasgoo.com) The long-awaited Audi Q5, a premium VW brand which made its global debut at the 2008 Beijing auto show in April, will be imported to the China market as soon as in early 2009, and local production of this luxury sedan will follow up immediately, reported Beijing Times today, citing an Audi insider based in China.

This "import before local production" approach is similar to the business strategy of the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedans in the Chinese market, but this is not only for testing the waters of the market. An executive of FAW VW's Audi sales division explained that to put the imported Audi Q5 first onto the Chinese market early next year is to capture part of the fast-growing market as soon as possible.

Geely to build Mexico plant before 2013

Shanghai, August 6 (Gasgoo.com) China's Geely Automobile Holdings plans to build a $500 million car assembly plant in Mexico within five years, Chinese media reported today.

By 2013, Geely will itself invest $269 million in the plant with an initial capacity of 120,000 units annually. Another 12 Chinese second-tier suppliers will spend $231 million further on the project.

Parent company Geely Holding Group is reported to have signed a cooperation memorandum with a Mexican company in June to jointly build an industrial park including a car plant with an annual production capacity of 300,000 units.

China auto parts imports & exports grow in H1

Shanghai, August 6 (Gasgoo.com) In the first half of 2008, China imported automobile components valued at $8.115 billion, going up by a moderate 19.86%. Major import source countries are Japan, Germany, Korea, the U.S. and France, with imports from Japan taking the lead at $3.192 billion, covering 39.33% of the total imports, reported China Automotive Information Net.

Auto components exports in China kept rising fast in the first half of 2008. The total exports hit $15.374 billion, up 21.48% y/y, with America, Japan, Korea, Germany and the Netherlands as the target countries. Exports for America amounted to $4.107 billion, making up 26.71% of the total auto components exports.

Chery hybrid vehicles debut at Beijing Olympics

As part of the transportation arrangements for the Beijing Olympics, 50 hybrid vehicles co-developed with Ricardo are being provided by Chery Automobile Company Ltd. Known as the "Olympics Green Messengers," these vehicles are some of China's first hybrid vehicles and will go into full production in the months following the games.

With its expertise in hybrid electric vehicles and its wide-ranging skills in systems integration and vehicle controls and electronics, Ricardo was a natural choice as engineering partner for Chery when the Chinese automaker decided to develop its first hybrid products. Chery set out to develop two new vehicles based on its existing A5 sedan.

Report: July PV sales down 18% in China

Shanghai, August 7 (Gasgoo.com)  China's passenger vehicle sales plunged 18 percent in July compared with June in terms of vehicles sold by top 15 automakers, latest data from China Passenger Car Association shows.

Shanghai GM and FAW Volkswagen were China's two automakers of largest sales in July. They were followed by Guangzhou Honda with sales surging 57.19 percent month on month to 30,148 units, thanks to the launch of new generation Accord and Fit.

China's passenger-car sales rose 6.8 percent in July, the slowest pace in two years, as rising fuel prices damped demand and people delayed purchases ahead of this month's Beijing Olympics.

Sales of passenger cars, sport utility vehicles and multipurpose vehicles totaled 488,200, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said in an e-mailed statement today. In the first seven months, sales rose 16 percent to 4.1 million.

Car sales in Asia's largest auto market slowed after Beijing banned 50 percent of vehicles from entering the city for about two months to cut pollution during the Olympics. The central government also raised fuel prices in June to damp economic growth, cut oil usage and curb pollution.

China's top ten sedan brands in Jan-July

Shanghai, August 8 (Gasgoo.com) The top 10 best-sellers of China-made sedan brands (ranking 1st-10th)  in the January--July period are Santana (Shanghai VW), Jetta (FAW VW), Buick Excelle (Shanghai GM), Toyota Corolla (FAW Toyota), Honda Accord (Guangzhou Honda), Toyota Camry (Guangzhou Toyota), Chery QQ, Hyundai Elantra (Beijing Hyundai), Xiali (Tianjin FAW) and Focus (Changan Ford), according to the latest data from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).