BYD F3e all-electric car dies in infancy

Shanghai December 6 (Gasgoo.com) BYD Co earlier showed off an all-electric car at the 2006 Beijing Auto Show called the F3e, which, however, will never be put into production due to the lack of an enabling environment for electric cars in China, China Business News reported Monday, citing Wang Jianjun, deputy general manager of BYD Automotive Sales Co Ltd.

The Shenzhen-based automaker was initially engaged in development of all-electric vehicles, but changed its mind after a market investigation and consultation with the dealers for everyone thought there were still problems with the supporting infrastructure and market environment at the moment and what the company needed were transitional products. It therefore created the F3DM, a plug-in hybrid compact sedan, Wang said.

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Beijing Benz 2010 sales expected to hit 50,000 units, up 179%

Shanghai December 6 (Gasgoo.com) Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd, a joint venture between Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co (BAIC) and Daimler AG, said its sales will increase 179% from a year earlier to roughly 50,000 units this year, and are expected to grow more than 60% next year based on 2010 figures, the Beijing News reported Monday.

Moreover, the German automaker Daimler will likely to produce its Mercedes-Benz GLK crossover in China in 2011, the News said.

Mercedes-Benz China sales up 68% to 14,600 cars in November

Shanghai December 7 (Gasgoo.com) German automaker Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz Cars unit said Tuesday it sold 14,600 vehicles in China in November, up 68% from a year earlier, on continued strong sales momentum, according to a report from Automotive News China.

Sales for the January-November period totaled 130,100 units, a year-on-year increase of 114%, which is more than twice as much as the same period last year and has surpassed Mercedes 2010 sales target of 120,000 units.

Suzuki China appoints new President

Shanghai December 7 (Gasgoo.com) Yamamoto Katurou, former General Manager of Toyama, Japan-based sales division of Suzuki Motor Corp., has recently been appointed as the new President and General Manager of Manager Suzuki Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd. (Suzuki China), the National Business Daily reported Tuesday.

Hiroshi Tarumoto, the incumbent President and General Manager of Suzuki China, has left for Changzhou Haojue Suzuki Motorcycle Co.,Ltd. as General Manger last week. The handover has been completed at present, the company told the Daily.

China's Nov passenger car sales hit 1.28 mln, up 27%

Shanghai December 8 (Gasgoo.com) Passenger car sales in China hit a record high in November, up 27% from a year earlier to 1.28 million units, First Financial Daily reported Wednesday, citing data from the China Passenger Car Association.

The data released today also showed that passenger car production in the same month reached 1.35 million units, up 25.6% compared to November 2009. On a monthly basis, passenger car sales and output went up 27% and 13.80% respectively in November.

2011 Shanghai Auto Show highlights

Shanghai December 8 (Gasgoo.com) The 14th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition will kick off April 23-28 2011 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre under the theme of "Innovation for Tomorrow". The press conference was held yesterday in Pudong, Shanghai by the China International Trade Promotion Committee, Shanghai International Exhibition Co., Ltd. and the Munich Trade Fairs International Group (MMI).

The exhibition covering over 200,000 square meters will be the largest in its history. Among all the 13 indoor halls, 11 will be for the car makers (W1-W3，E1-E7 and N5), two more halls than the last exhibition; the other two (W4, W5) along with the outdoor temporary halls will be for the auto parts manufacturers. There will also be commercial vehicle area, media area, VIP lounge area, and areas for auto audio devices and tires, meeting rooms, news center, etc. outside.

Guangzhou Auto, Gonow sign JV deal today: source

Shanghai December 9 (Gasgoo.com) Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. (GAC), the largest automaker in southern China, and Gonow Auto Co., a small privately owned SUV and pick-up truck manufacturer based in Taizhou, Zhejiang, have signed today an agreement to create a 51:49 joint venture, the Information Times reported Thursday.

GAC, a partner of Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., has agreed to retain the existing management team of Gonow in the new company, which will have a registered capital of 1.26 billion yuan ($189 million) and will be lead by Gonow chairman Liao Xuezhong.

New Chevrolet Aveo expected to launch in China next year

Shanghai December 9 (Gasgoo.com) The next-generation Chevrolet Ave, renamed as "Sonic", has been put into production at General Motors' Chinese joint venture with Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corp (SAIC), and is expected to go on sale in the domestic market after rolling off the assembly line in the third quarter of 2011, bitauto.com reported Thursday.

The new Aveo has been unveiled at the 2010 Paris Auto Show, and is reportedly wider and longer than the current model, which should give it interior and cargo volumes that are among the best in the class. The new car also adopts a "motorcycle-inspired instrument cluster" and extensive blue backlighting, according to GM.

BYD invests $180 mln to improve LED industry chain

Shanghai December 10 (Gasgoo.com) BYD Co (01211.HK), China's largest rechargeable battery maker and an ambitious automaker, is accelerating the layout of its LED industry chain in Huizhou, Guangdong province, and has invested 1.2 billion yuan ($180 million) in its LED lighting project, First Financial Daily reported Friday.

BYD Huizhou LED facility ordered dozens of MOCVD (metallo organic chemical vapor deposition) equipments earlier, and has received five sets of MOCVD equipment, around $2 million per set, the relevant people in charge at the Management Committee of the Huizhou Zhongkai High-tech Industrial Development Zone and the Huizhou Daya Bay Economic and Technological Development Zone told the Daily.

Volvo moves to regain safety and reliability image

Shanghai December 10 (Gasgoo.com) Volvo China CEO Alexander Klose said at the launching ceremony of the S80L last week that sales of Volvo cars increased 52% in the first nine months this year in China, while the capacity of the Volvo XC60 and XC90 has become very tight, so the company's top priority right now is to expand its production capacity, the Beijing Times reported Friday.

The Swedish carmaker, which Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co acquired from US giant Ford for $1.5 billion in August, has launched the XC60 2.0T and the new S80L in the Chinese market, with the latter's price being cut by 30,000 yuan.

 

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