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.

Geely’s shares surged nearly 11.32 percent and closed at HK$2.95 per share in Hong Kong on Thursday.

Privately owned Geely paid $1.8 billion to acquire the Volvo car brand from Ford on March 28 this year. It was the biggest overseas deal made by Chinese automakers in recent times.

Geely Chairman Li Shufu had at that time indicated that the company would invest $900 million as operating capital in Volvo apart from the $1.8 billion purchase price.

Geely said on July 15 that it had appointed Li as the chairman of the board at Volvo Car Corp. At the same time it appointed the former president and CEO of Volvo Hans-Olov Olsson as the vice-chairman.

More appointments to the board and top management, including the chief executive and chief financial officer, may be made next week, said sources.

Analysts said the Volvo buy will help Geely gain a competitive edge in China and also a major toehold in Europe.

Pursuant to completion of the deal, Geely is likely to start making Volvo cars locally.

Though it has not announced a location yet, indications are that it may consider Jiading in Shanghai, Chengdu in Sichuan, Beijing or Tianjin as possible production sites.

During the firsts six months of the year, Volvo sold 15,497 cars in China, up 88 percent over last year.

That compares to the Swedish luxury brand’s 5.2 percent and 9 percent year-on-year decline in major markets like the United States and Germany.

Geely plans to increase Volvo’s annual sales in China to 150,000 units by 2015, said sources.

Beijing Auto’s new 007 SUV debuted at the Beijing Auto Show. It will be listed in September. Engines: a 2.0 with 89kw and 176nm, and a 2.4 with 105kw and 217nm. The 2.4 comes with 4×2 or 4×4, the 2.0 only with 4×2. Both engines mated to a 5-speed manual.  Size: 4595×1828x1804, wheelbase is 2600. Price yet unknown but will likely start around 100.000 yuan.

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 this ‘GP 50′ small sedan,  suv and mpv to follow.

First shots of the interior clearly show the horsehead-logo on the steering wheel, Baojun means ‘Treasured Horse”. The GP50 will hit la market at November 18, to be priced between 50.000 and 80.000 yuan. Power comes from a 1.4, 1.6 likely to arrive later.

Earlier Wuling ‘Demo Car’.

GP50 changed around the C-pillar and rear window compared to the Demo Car.

In early July we found out that Beijing Auto is working on a hatchback based on the current Mercedes Benz B-class. Now we know they won’t stop there, the renderings show a Beijinged B-class with an extra ass.

Mercedes never went this far but the result does not look bad. Both C30’s will be launced in the first half of 2011.

Power comes from a new ‘T-Power 150′ engine. 1.5 litre, tubocharged, 121kw and 225nm. There will be an electric for sale at some point in the future but it won’t be soon and problably never.

The XL2060L is a giant suv in Hummer-style from Xiaolong Auto. I read about the machine before but this was the first time I met one in the real world and impressive it is. The Chinese army is currently testing it for military use in remote and barbarian areas such as Tibet.

Size: 5137×2250x1950, wheelbase is 1450. Engine is a 3.2 6-cylinder diesel with a not too strong 135kw. Curb weight is 3600kg. Top speed is 115 km/h. 4×4 and waterproof. It is on sale for oil companies and the like for 1 million yuan, 147.000 US dollar. Xiaolong is working on a road-legal civillian version, that one would be great to use in Beijing’s traffic jams.

I met the XL2060L at a show in Beijing about ‘Chinese automobile technical achievements’, I saw some other interesting vehicles as well, later more about the show.

The doors were locked but I got one good shot trough the window. Interior looked fine and finished.

A XL2060L on test by the army, this is the pick-up version, note white military  licence plate.

Last week we heard FAW-Hongqi was seriously considering production of the CA7600L V12 limosine, to be priced around 4 million yuan. Today’s spy pics however, tell a slightly different story. They show a camouflaged Hongqi HQE, based on the 2005 HQD concept car.

FAW announced in 2008 that is was going to make a limited series of the HQE for government use, the car was scheduled to debut at the military parade in Beijing on August 1 2009. It did, but with a new front in traditional Hongqi-style and a new name; the CA7600L, which made it to the Beijing Auto Show in April.

So here we have the old car, back from the ashes, getting ready for production. It will get the 6 litre 300kw V12 and according to the latest information get a price tag of 3 million yuan. Not sure what this means for the production plans for the CA7600L but I don’t think Hongqi will make two almost similar limo’s at the same time.

2005 Hongqi HQD concept, later renamed to Hongqi HQE.

2009 CA7600L at the Beijing Auto Show.

2009 CA7600L at the August 1 military parade in Beijing. It has a special roof so president Hu Jintao can stand up and wave to the troops and people. He really liked.

More spy shots of the HQE:

See door; funky speaker-design.

The CA7600L’s interior, loox the same except for the speaker and some other details in the door.

The CA7600L’s chassis is based on a stretched chassis from a Toyota Landcruiser Prado. On the pic the chassis with added weight behind the rear axle for testing. Note the alloys, the are the same as on the CA7600L.

‘Traditional’ Hongqi CA7600J.

Suzuki will splash the Splash into the Chinese market sometime near the end of the year. The Splash will be splashed out of the factory from Suzuki’s joint venture with Chang’an Auto in the city of Chongqing, where they know a few things about splashes. Price will range from 50.000 to 70.000 yuan, engines a 1.0 and a 1.4. Size: 3715×1590x1680, wheelbase is 2360.

Fiat does not make any cars in China at this moment. It will soon when the new joint venture with Guangzhou Auto starts making Linea’s for the Chinese market. Production starts in the second half of 2011. Fiat currently imports the Bravo, Grand Bravo and Linea and it will add the 500 before the end of this year.

It will be priced around 200.000 yuan to compete with other imported fashionthingies like the Mini and Volkswagen New Beetle. That one is still selling well in China, the only place in the world where it does. It would make a lot of sense to make the 500 in China but after the Linea starts rolling off the line the Bravo’s will likely go first. The Fiat 500 hit la European markets in 2007.

BYD’s new L3 sedan will hit la market on August 16, priced between 90.000 and 120.000 yuan. Engines: 1.5 with 79kw and 144nm and a 1.8 with 90kw and 160nm. No runners indeed, but fast enough for the endless traffic jams in Beijing. No plans yet for an electric L3 because BYD found out nobody wants those, sales of the electric F3DM were minimal, to say the least.

Size: 4568×1716x1480, wheelbase is 2615.

Note the F0’s in front and in the rear view mirror.

Under the bonnet-design still a weak point, but this goes for all ‘domestic’ Chinese automakers.

“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.

In a statement e-mailed to the Global Times, Chery, which rolled out its first all-electric car in 2009, denied any involvement in the technology thefts.

“Chery Automobile Co has never been in contact with the Chinese American couples allegedly involved in stealing GM tech secrets,” the statement said.

Du Shanshan and Qin Yu, a Chinese couple who became US citizens, were indicted Thursday in US District Court in Detroit on charges that include conspiring to steal trade secrets related to hybrid ve-hicles from GM and attempting to sell them to Chery. GM claims the stolen information is worth $40 million, media reports said.

Du, a former GM employee, was accused of copying thousands of documents in 2005, five days after getting a severance offer from GM, the AP reported, citing the indictment unsealed Thursday by the court.

Several months after Du left GM, the indictment says, the couple “moved forward on a new business venture to provide hybrid vehicle technology to Chery Automobile.”

“Chery has always been committed to observing and maintaining the rules of IP (intellectual property) protection by the international community. It has obtained more than 4,000 patents for core technologies, including whole vehicle, engines, gearbox and new energies, thanks to its own R&D capability,” the statement said.

Since 2001, Chery started its research and development work worldwide in the field of new energy, the company said on its official website.

GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson was quoted as saying by CNN that “We cooperated with the US attorney’s office in developing the case and will continue to cooperate with them as appropriate.”

Attorneys for the couple could not be reached. The couple had been under scrutiny for years, The New York Times reported. If convicted, they will face up to 20 years in prison with a fine of $250,000, according to US laws.

The Times quoted assistant US Attorney Cathleen Corken as saying that “there is no indication the Chinese benefited.”

“As our auto industry works to find new areas of innovation, such as hybrid technology, we will not tolerate the theft of our trade secrets from foreign competitors,” Barbara McQuade, US attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said in a news release, the Times said.

The case comes at a time when Chinese automakers try to buy brands and technology from Western companies amid industry turmoil. However, Chinese auto manufacturers are still believed to be lagging behind their global rivals in terms of technology and design.

The latest theft allegations echo a similar case from 2006. Yu Xiangdong, a former Ford Motor engineer, was charged with copying design details on vehicle components in December 2006, less than a month before quitting Ford.

As China’s largest independent automobile maker, Chery’s rollout of its first all-electric car, the S18, made the company the second in the country to do so, after BYD, China’s leading electric-car maker that renowned investor Warren Buffett is a shareholder in.

Apart from the automotive industry, cases of alleged theft of secrets, involving Chinese and US companies, have also been reported in other sectors, including telecommunications.

John Zeng, a senior market analyst with the Asian Automotive Forecast Service at IHS Global Insight, told the Global Times that foreign media and companies have long been used to wearing blindfolds in perceiving China and Chinese companies.

“Whenever China or Chinese companies make progress in technology, their foreign counterparts accuse China or Chinese companies of stealing,” he said.

Zeng warned that the number of such cases involving the alleged theft of tech secrets in the auto industry will increase in the future as China’s auto industry continues to expand.

Jiang Yong, director of the Economic Security Studies Center at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said that such theft accusations aren’t uncommon and are usually made by com-panies whose technical capabilities are declining.

He noted that, in order to avoid being targeted by foreign firms with similar accusations, Chinese auto companies need to carefully study the law on IPR protection to prevent crossing the line.

It is often difficult to define IP infringement, as many technologies in the industry are developed to match the ones already in use, so many products bear similarities unless real technological breakthroughs are made, he added.”