Archive for the ‘Industry’ Category
Chinese govt approves Geely’s purchase of Volvo
Published on July 30, 2010 by Tycho
From: ChinaDaily, 300710. BEIJING – Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co is expected to complete it takeover of Swedish luxury car brand Volvo from US automaker Ford Motor Co on Monday after getting government approval for the deal.
Ministry of Commerce officials told China Daily on Thursday that the government cleared the Volvo deal on Monday 26, after the National Development and Reform Commission cleared the proposal last week.
Geely has also got the necessary anti-trust approvals from the European Union and the US government for the deal. “With this the decks are now clear for Geely to complete its acquisition of Volvo and start manufacturing the brand in China,” said Wang Zhile, director of the research center on transnational corporations under the Ministry of Commerce.
Yuan Xiaolin, Geely’s spokesman for the Volvo deal was unavailable on Thursday for comment. However, unnamed sources from Geely told China Daily that the Zhejiang-based automaker will hold a formal function on Monday to complete the deal.
Categories: Geely, Industry
Tags: take over
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Carmaker [Chery] denies spy charge
Published on July 27, 2010 by Tycho
Chery is in trouble and it loox like US prosecutors will go to the bottom of it. Read on for excellent background article about the case from GlobalTimes, a Chinese government owned magazine:
“China’s largest [independent, domestic] automaker, Chery International, denied charges Monday by US prosecutors who are accusing it of stealing millions of dollars worth of clean energy technology from former engineers of US auto giant General Motors.
The intensified wrangling comes as the US auto industry attempts to recover from poor fiscal performances and shrinking sales.
And analysts are warning Chinese automakers to take intellectual property rights more seriously when competing with their foreign counterparts, as the Chinese firms are vying for more market share worldwide after the country’s car market was crowned the world’s largest last year, surpassing that of the United States.
Categories: Chery, Industry
Tags: ip
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VW-China bosses perish in high-speed road crash
Published on July 20, 2010 by Tycho
From ChinaDaily, 200710. SHANGHAI – The general manager of Shanghai Volkswagen and three other high-ranking managers were killed in a horrific traffic accident on Saturday during a business trip to Jiuquan in Northwest China’s Gansu province, according to a company statement on Monday.
General manager Liu Jian, 45, and public relations director Zeng Jialin, along with two other top executives, were on their way to a meeting when their company-owned Tiguan SUV smashed into a truck and exploded barely 2 km from the Guazhou toll station, Xinhua reported on Monday.
According to the report, the SUV was traveling at 220 km per hour when it ran into the truck. The maximum driving speed allowed on China’s expressways is 120 km per hour, according to the relevant traffic regulation. The victims were in Gansu province for a company event to meet dealers and attend a test drive, the company statement said.
Categories: Industry, Shanghai-VW
Tags:
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Chang’an-PSA to make Citroen DS4 in China (?)
Published on July 20, 2010 by Tycho
PSA (Peugeot-Citroen) and Chang’an Auto signed a joint venture agreement earlier this month. The joint venture will launch a new brand and introduce Citroen’s DS-line to China. First up could be the Citroen DS4, so far a concept only. For China it will get two more doors so families can buy it. The DS3 is likely to be made in China as well, that one will keep its 3 doors so it can compete directly with BMW’s very succesful Mini.
Categories: Chang'an-PSA, Industry
Tags: ds
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New Wuling Baojun-brand Launched
Published on July 19, 2010 by Tycho
Yesterday Sunday the 18th of July saw the official launch of the new Baojun brandname in Shanghai. Baojun is a subbrand of minicarmaker Wuling. Wuling is a joint venture between SAIC (aka Shanghai Auto), General Motors and Wuling Automotive. The new brand is meant for entry level cars, first up is the ‘GP 50′ small sedan, suv and mpv to follow.
Categories: Industry, Wuling
Tags: gp50
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June Top Ten Car Sales in China by Brand; Shanghai Volkswagen Wins
Published on July 15, 2010 by Tycho
The Chinese Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported the top ten car sales by brand for June 2010, again on the top spot:
1. Shanghai-Volkswagen: 79.000
2. FAW-Volkswagen: 73.300
3. Shanghai-GM: 63.400
4. Dongfeng-Nissan: 47.300
5. Beijing-Hyundai: 44.500
6. BYD: 35.400
7. Chang’an Ford: 31.000
8. Chery: 28.700
9. Geely: 28.000
10: Dongfeng-Peugeot: 25.100
Top Ten Total: 455.700, 0r 65% of total car sales.
Biggest Winners: Shanghai-Volkswagen, FAW-Volkswagen and Chang’an Ford.
Biggest Losers: Chery and BYD.
Categories: Industry
Tags: sales
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June Top Ten Car Sales in China; VW Lavida Wins
Published on July 15, 2010 by Tycho
The Chinese Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported the top ten car sales for June 2010, and for the first time on the top spot:
1. Shanghai-Volkswagen Lavida: 21.600
2. FAW-Volkswagen Jetta: 18.900
3. Beijing-Hyundai Elantra: 18.300
4. Shanghai-Volkswagen Santana: 18:300
5. FAW-Volkswagen New Bora: 16.200
6: BYD F3: 16.000
7. Brilliance Junjie (BS4): 14.500
8. Tianjin-FAW Xiali: 14.800
9. FAW-Volkswagen Fox: 14.300
10. Shanghai-GM Buick Excelle: 13.000
Top Ten Total: 166.700, 0r 24% of total car sales.
Categories: Industry
Tags: sales
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Changan, PSA create new joint venture, DS line to be Made in China
Published on July 13, 2010 by Tycho
From: Xinhua, edited. China Changan Auto Group Corporation (CCAG) and French leading carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen signed a contract Friday here on the creation of an equally owned joint venture in China.
The contract was signed by Xu Bin, president of China South Industries Group Corporation, Changan’s main shareholder, and Philippe Varin, chairman of the French part’s Managing Board, at a ceremony attended by Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Bernard Accoyer, president of the National Assembly of France.
Their initial cooperation will focus on introducing the Citroen DS line in China and launching a dedicated new brand for the venture, the two companies said in a joint statement. The contract also allows for the joint venture to market, at a later date, further vehicles under the partners’ other brands, Peugeot and Changan, they said.
[PSA already has a joint venture with Dongfeng, selling cars under the 'Peugeot' and 'Citroen' brands, that jv will continue operations until Chang'an-PSA will start using those brands, and that is when the jv-contract between Dongfeng and PSA expires]
Categories: Chang'an-PSA, Industry
Tags: ds
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Audi sets half-year sales record in China
Published on July 13, 2010 by Tycho
From: Xinhuanet. Volkswagen’s luxury arm Audi broke through the 100,000-unit sales mark in China in the six months that ended on June 30, not only maintaining segment leadership by volume, but also better balancing sales of its locally produced cars and imported models.
In June alone, the company delivered 21,200 cars to bring its first-half sales to 108,600 units, an increase of 64 percent over the same period last year and on track to fulfill its goal of 200,000 cars in China this year.
Sales of its imported models surged 139 percent over a year ago to about 14,600 cars in the first half, almost reaching the company’s total imported car sales of 14,800 units last year. The results show imports rose from 10 percent of overall Audi sales in China last year to 13 percent in the first six months of 2010.
Categories: FAW-VW, Industry, Volkswagen China
Tags: Audi
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Geely sales up 42% in Jan-June
Published on July 12, 2010 by Tycho
From Reuters:
Vehicle sales of Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd rose by an annual 42.1 percent in the first six months of this year, indicating that the Chinese carmaker was on track to achieve its full-year target. Geely Automobile, whose parent Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is buying Ford Motor’s Volvo car unit, sold 195,734 vehicles from January to June, it said in a statement late on Friday.
Privately-held Zhejiang Geely is the biggest carmaker in China, which overtook the United States as the world’s No.1 auto market last year. In March, Geely signed a deal to buy Sweden-based Volvo for $1.8 billion, marking the country’s biggest auto purchase overseas.
Categories: Geely, Industry
Tags: sales
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