http://mynews.mychinab2b.com Your Source for Latest B2B iNews Tue, 06 Sep 2011 23:22:59 MDT en http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/automotive-maserati-recalls-56-cars-in-china-mainland/ Tue, 06 Sep 2011 23:22:59 MDT admin Automotive 3 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/automotive-maserati-recalls-56-cars-in-china-mainland/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/automotive-volkswagen-plans-to-export-beetles-from-mexico-to-china/ Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:24:45 MDT admin Automotive 2 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/automotive-volkswagen-plans-to-export-beetles-from-mexico-to-china/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/bamboo-treecycle/ Fri, 08 Jul 2011 23:54:59 MDT admin Automotive 5 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/bamboo-treecycle/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/green-economy-china-to-exempts-green-vehicles-from-taxation/
The draft regulation was created in line with the Vehicle and Vessel Tax Law, which stipulates that "tax reductions and exemptions should be granted for vehicles and vessels that save energy or use new energy," according to a statement released on Wednesday by the Legal Affairs Office of the State Council. ]]> Fri, 17 Jun 2011 03:43:56 MDT admin Automotive 2 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/green-economy-china-to-exempts-green-vehicles-from-taxation/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/bmw-doubles-investment-in-china/
BMW Group recently announced it will almost double the investment in its new Shenyang factory to around 1 billion euros ($1.42 billion) to enable higher production and increased local content.

With its joint venture partner Brilliance Auto, the automaker started construction on the new plant in the capital of Liaoning province in the middle of last year. At the time the announced investment was 560 million euros ($795 million).

The additional investment will be shared between the two partners and used to build press and paint shops and to expand infrastructure at the new plant in Tiexi district of Shenyang, the company said in a statement.
The new factory will have an initial capacity of 100,000 cars a year when it is completed early next year, according to BMW. Planned products made at the facility include the X1 SUV.

"The plant is being built in record time," Olaf Kastner, president and CEO of the joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive, said in an interview at the Shanghai auto show last month. "We have never before built a plant in such a short time - 18 months."

BMW has an existing factory in Dadong district of Shenyang that makes a total of about 75,000 3 Series and 5 Series sedans annually.

The figure is set to increase to more than 100,000 in the near future, the company said.

Over the long term, the two plants will have the combined potential to make more than 300,000 vehicles a year "depending on market trends", the company said.

Kastner noted in the previous interview that the company will remain flexible "so we can raise production - but if necessary we can also scale back".
That flexibility will give the company a competitive edge, he added.

Last month BMW sold 20,800 cars in China, a year-on-year increase of 67 percent. For the first four months, the company reported deliveries of nearly 80,000 cars, up 70 percent over the same period last year.

China is BMW's third-largest market following Germany and the US.

Other luxury carmakers are also adding capacity as demand increases.

Audi now has an annual production capacity of 200,000 units in China at its joint venture with parent Volkswagen Group and local partner FAW Group.

It has announced plans to double capacity to 400,000 units as it aims to move 1 million cars in total from 2011 to 2013.

The luxury unit of Volkswagen sold 23,800 cars in China last month, up 22 percent over the same period last year.

Mercedes-Benz aims to boost production capacity in its Beijing joint venture to 300,000 units a year by 2015.

The company's mainland sales surged 77 percent to more than 61,000 cars between January and April this year. It moved 17,180 cars in April alone.

But outside the premium segment, the industry is under pressure.

In April, sales fell for the first time in the last two years in both year-on-year and month-on-month figures.

The 1.55 million vehicles sold in China last month was a decline of 15 percent from March and 0.25 percent fewer than the same month a year ago.

The nation's auto sales in the first fourth months totaled 6.5 million units, up 6 percent over a year earlier. ]]> Mon, 16 May 2011 01:26:38 MDT admin Automotive 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/bmw-doubles-investment-in-china/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/automotive-all-time-record-set-in-auto-imports/ Mon, 09 May 2011 21:12:21 MDT admin Automotive 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/automotive-all-time-record-set-in-auto-imports/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/automotive-mercedes-recalls-imported-vehicles-in-china/ ]]> Tue, 26 Apr 2011 03:01:42 MDT admin Automotive 2 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/automotive-mercedes-recalls-imported-vehicles-in-china/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/luxury-driving-force-for-luxury-cars/ Tue, 19 Apr 2011 20:06:09 MDT admin Automotive 7 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/luxury-driving-force-for-luxury-cars/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/china-suspends-jeep-wrangler-imports-over-safety-concern/
Consumers in China have reported several cases of imported Jeep Wranglers catching fire. Investigations found that the fires were the result of a problem in the vehicles' automatic transmission and related systems, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said in a statement on its website.

The administration did not mention whether these incidents resulted in casualties.

The AQSIQ urged Chrysler, the vehicle's manufacturer, to determine the cause of the problems and solve them. "Before that, the manufacturer and importers should take precautionary measures for the vehicles involved to ensure consumers' safety," it said. ]]> Sat, 09 Apr 2011 21:12:37 MDT admin Automotive 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/china-suspends-jeep-wrangler-imports-over-safety-concern/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/china-auto-rental-halts-taxi-services-business/
Taxi services, which cost three to four times the price of regular car rentals, catered to a niche market of the financially affluent, according to Yao Junhong, executive vice-president of the company.

"A certain level of (the company's overall) profit" was drawn from these services, which are deemed violating regulations but had somehow found a way to snowball in the industry, he said.

"We have come to realize that taxi operations (for car rental agencies) aren't in line with existing laws and regulations. We are willing to accept media supervision, and right the past wrongs," Yao told a news briefing.

The gesture is the first such attempt in a booming industry, where a majority of the 5,000 to 10,000 registered car rental companies practically live on offering "chauffeur services", a fancy name for taxi operations.

The services are illegal in regulations at both national and local levels, particularly in seven provincial-level administrations, including the municipalities of Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing, where taxi operations are limited to only licensed taxi companies.

"Making their services legal would justify the existence of unlicensed cabs. How, then, are we licensed cabbies supposed to survive? Who's going to protect our legal rights? It'll just mess up the market," said a cabbie with Beijing's Yinjian taxi company who did not want to be named.

Already boasting a near-monopoly in Beijing, China Auto Rental has apparently gained an upper hand with this latest move in its nationwide turf war with Shanghai-based eHi Car Service, the second-biggest player in the industry. The car rental market has soared in recent months thanks to increasing demand following strict policies that curb private car usage in a number of cities, most notably Beijing.

In Shanghai, eHi's public relations manager Lin Yan said the company is "not yet fully clear" on China Auto Rental's latest move and is therefore unable to respond.

"We're looking into it," she said when contacted on phone.
It has been a tough week for eHi, where taxi operations contribute to more than half the entire business, according to an investigative report by China Central Television (CCTV). The coverage, which was aired on Tuesday, showed the dangers in such services, including non-contract-bonded transactions and drivers' failure to provide invoices or receipts. Consumer rights, the program said, "can hardly be protected in the case of legal disputes".

CCTV's denouncement and China Auto Rental's withdrawal from taxi operations are twin blow for eHi, which, since its formation in 2008, has insisted on a high-profile campaign to promote "chauffeur services".

Zhang Ruiping, the company's founder, chairman and chief executive officer, has openly acknowledged that the services are illegal. "Many things in China are illegal, but reasonable," he was earlier quoted as saying by The Founder magazine.

Its car pool rose from just 30 in 2008 to 7,000 today. In late 2010, eHi signed a definitive investment agreement valued at $70 million with a consortium including Goldman Sachs as the lead investor. China Auto Rental, meanwhile, received a 1.2 billion-yuan ($178.44 million) investment last year from Legend Holdings, parent company of IBM's PC division owner Lenovo Group.

China Auto Rental has 13,000 cars and plans to buy 25,000 others within a year to secure its temporary dominance in the still-fragmented car rental market, where the top ten players combined hold just 11 percent of the total share.

The country's car rental market is expected to experience an annual growth of around 25 percent for the next five years, according to consulting firm Roland Berger. ]]> Fri, 18 Mar 2011 07:52:02 MDT admin Automotive 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/china-auto-rental-halts-taxi-services-business/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/electric-car-us-startups-1st-model-made-in-china/
CODA Automotive Inc's four-door sedan will be produced by a Chinese partner based on one of its models that has been adapted for electric drive and to meet US safety standards, CODA's CEO Philip F. Murtaugh said.
]]> Wed, 02 Mar 2011 22:19:53 MST admin Automotive 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/electric-car-us-startups-1st-model-made-in-china/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/volvo-to-recall-18848-vehicles-in-china/
The recall will cover Volvo XC60, C30 2.0, S40 and S80L models in China due to airbag, software, and cooling system defects, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, China's top quality supervisor in a statement on its website.

Some Volvo XC60 models will be recalled for an airbag assembly issue that could result in the airbag failing to deploy or deploying improperly. The vehicles were produced between January 26, 2009 and April 14, 2010.

Thirty models were sold in the Chinese market. All affected vehicles covered by the recall will need to be brought to the nearest Volvo dealer for a free inspection of the left and right curtain air bag assemblies.

Meanwhile, Volvo is recalling 4,033 C30 vehicles and 8,952 S40 vehicles for an engine software upgrade as a preemptive measure to prevent the vehicles from shaking in certain conditions.

The Volvo C30 vehicles were produced between Nov 12, 2008 and Sept 23, 2010. The Volvo S40 vehicles were manufactured between Sept 19, 2009 and Sept 11, 2010.

The company is also recalling 5,833 S80L models, produced between April 27 and December 2009, due to an engine cooling system problem. The problem with the cooling system could cause engine damage, said officials. ]]> Mon, 29 Nov 2010 21:45:25 MST admin Automotive 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/volvo-to-recall-18848-vehicles-in-china/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/mercedes-benz-a-class-joins-luxury-product-lineup-in-china-auto-market/
The A160 and A180 boast a perfect combination of Mercedes-Benz's innovative technology, pioneering expertise and youthful passion - as well as their exceptional values at 238,000 yuan (US$35,843) and 278,000 yuan respectively.

With the highest standards of safety, practicality, and comfort offered by the youthful and dynamic A-Class, Mercedes-Benz aims to enable young elites to not only achieve, but also enjoy, their dreams under the three-pointed star.

"In response to increased customer demand for luxury compact vehicles, we are now excited to launch the A-Class to the Chinese market, which will make the Mercedes-Benz brand even more attainable for Chinese customers," said Klaus Maier, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd.
]]> Mon, 22 Nov 2010 03:00:15 MST admin Automotive 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/mercedes-benz-a-class-joins-luxury-product-lineup-in-china-auto-market/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/electric-cars-to-spark-china-market/
"The area is where Chinese manufacturers have the smallest gap with the world's leading technology," said Chen, who is also a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, which advises the government and industry on key scientific and technological issues. ]]> Wed, 10 Nov 2010 06:36:10 MST admin Automotive 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/electric-cars-to-spark-china-market/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/lamborghini-gets-jump-start-in-china-high-end-sector/
China has become the second-biggest market for Automobili Lamborghini Holding SpA due to a sales boom, which saw figures more than double so far this year.

The Italian luxury sports car brand plans to increase investment in the market during the next few years to consolidate its success, according to the head of the company.

"We have delivered 178 super-sports cars to Chinese customers in the first three quarters, with more than 200 percent growth over the past year," said Stephan Winkelmann, president and CEO of Lamborghini. "This momentum will make it easy to achieve our 200-unit sales target in 2010."

The company sold 80 cars in China in 2009, making the country its fifth-biggest market. That was an improvement on tenth-biggest just one year earlier when it sold 72 units.

Winkelmann told China Daily that the company's market share in China's super-sports car market - which has total sales by all companies of fewer than 1,000 units a year - grew from 17 percent in 2009 to 23 percent this year.

"Although we are proud to have fantastic sales figures in China this year, we see the long-term success of the Lamborghini brand in this market as more important," Winkelmann said.

"We hope that Lamborghini's luxury Italian design, precision engineering, and uncompromising driving spirit can help more Chinese achieve their dream of owning a super-sports car."

Winkelmann was in China this week to unveil two new showrooms in Shanghai and Xiamen, thereby increasing Lamborghini's dealerships in the country to nine. Its first Chinese outlet opened in Beijing in 2004. ]]> Thu, 04 Nov 2010 21:30:50 MDT admin Automotive 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/lamborghini-gets-jump-start-in-china-high-end-sector/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/shanghais-new-energy-boom-shanghai-daily-%7C-%C3%A4%C2%B8%C5%A0%C3%A6%C2%B5%C2%B7%C3%A6%E2%80%94%C2%A5%C3%A6%C5%A0%C2%A5-/
It will also build 25,000 charging stations for battery or hybrid vehicles by 2012, said Wang Zhe, of Shanghai's new energy automobile promotion office at the International Forum on Chinese Automobile Industry Development.

"With government support in purchasing, R&D and infrastructure, Shanghai will be able to produce 100,000 new energy vehicles every year, including 60,000 passenger cars by 2012," Wang said.

The city is applying to the National Development and Reform Commission for additional subsidies for private buyers of new energy cars. ]]> Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:36:21 MDT admin Automotive 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/shanghais-new-energy-boom-shanghai-daily-%7C-%C3%A4%C2%B8%C5%A0%C3%A6%C2%B5%C2%B7%C3%A6%E2%80%94%C2%A5%C3%A6%C5%A0%C2%A5-/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/200m-cars-forecast-for-chinas-roads-by-2020-shanghai-daily-/
"In the face of environment and energy problems, stepping up efforts to promote fuel-efficient and green energy autos has become a vital issue for the industry," Wang Fuchang, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology told the International Forum on Chinese Automotive Industry Development in Tianjin.

Wang reiterated the nation's goals for the next decade - increasing market share of pure-electric and plug-in electric autos, building world-competitive auto makers and parts manufacturers in the energy-efficient auto sector as well as raising fuel-efficiency to world levels.

China is aiming to be the world's largest new energy vehicle market by 2020 with 5 million cars. It also aims to sell more than 15 million of the most fuel-efficient vehicles in the world each year by then.

"China will take measures to promote innovation and help Chinese firms to gain core techniques. Standards and guidelines will be set out while preferential tax policies and subsidies will be offered to speed up the development," Wang said.

China overtook the United States to become the world's top auto maker and market in 2009 when car ownership had risen 17.81 percent year on year to 76.19 million units.

However, the fast-developing auto industry also brings with it severe air pollution, Liu Zhiquan, an official at the Ministry of Environment Protection, told the forum.

One-fifth of Chinese cities are suffering severe air pollution while over one-third of 113 major cities failed to reach the National II air quality standard, Liu said.

Meanwhile, Chen Bin, director of industry coordination for the National Development and Reform Commission, warned that unchecked growth was leading to excess capacity and could harm the wider economy.

But industry representatives responded that car makers were only trying to meet demand, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.

The overall capacity of China's auto industry might seem excessive, but the market had huge potential for restructuring and growth, said Hu Xinmin, honorary chairman of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Fan Zhong, a senior manager at Dongfeng Automobile, said: "Our problem is not having enough capacity."

Most entrepreneurs at the forum had similar views, Xinhua said. ]]> Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:34:39 MDT admin Automotive 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/200m-cars-forecast-for-chinas-roads-by-2020-shanghai-daily-/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/gm-to-localize-volt-if-chinese-demand-picks-up/
"Local production of the Volt won't be a problem, in terms of technology. However, we need positive market feedback before we can put it into mass production," said Ding Lei, chief general manager of Shanghai GM, the US automaker's joint venture in China.

He also told China Daily that local production of the Volt "is necessary" as GM views China as a key market to promote the widespread use of electric vehicles. "We need to lower the cost and price of the Volt through local production in order to commercialize it and not merely remain a concept model," said Ding.

Kevin Wale, president and managing director of GM China Group, said that the company will put the Volt on sale in China in the second half of next year, the first market outside the US, where the Volt will be launched at the end of this year.

"We have seen the Chinese government's efforts on promotion and support for new energy vehicles. We believe that China will take the lead in the development and use of electric vehicles in the near future," said Wale.

Chen Qingquan, chairman of the World Electric Vehicle Association, said that China will lead in the electric vehicle segment in the next 5 to 10 years, predicting that hybrid and pure electric automobile sales will account for more than 15 percent of the Chinese auto market by 2020.

"We hope with GM taking the lead, the development of electric vehicles will open entirely new industries in China," he added.

Pre-sales of the Volt started in the US in July. It is priced at $41,000, excluding a government subsidy of $7,000. The Chinese government has said earlier this year that it will provide subsidies up to 60,000 yuan ($8,812) per electric vehicle in China.

GM celebrated the arrival of the first fully operational Volt in China on Tuesday, by delivering two Volts to the Shanghai Expo Bureau for use as part of its VIP transportation fleet at Expo 2010 Shanghai.

The Volt is a GM Chevrolet model, which can be powered by battery for the first 60 kilometers of use, after which it can shift over to running like other gasoline-powered vehicles. It offers a total driving range of about 500 kilometers, and is powered by electricity at all times.

Japanese automaker Nissan also plans to bring its electric vehicle Leaf to China by providing test models for the Wuhan government.

A Nissan executive said that once local demand reaches 50,000 units, the company plans to start production of the Leaf in China. ]]> Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:21:25 MDT admin Automotive 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/gm-to-localize-volt-if-chinese-demand-picks-up/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/central-firms-to-buy-electric-car-technology/
Guided by China's State-owned assets regulator, 16 State-owned companies formed an alliance to accelerate the development of electric vehicles, covering operations of electric drive, battery and charging and services.

At present, central enterprises do not enjoy advantages in key technical strengths or innovation ability, which are important in new industries like energy-efficient cars, industry veterans said. The only way to catch up is to buy new energy companies or attract technical talents, they added.

The China National Offshore Oil Corp, one of the 16 central enterprises, plans to invest 5 billion yuan ($735 million) in battery maker Tianjin Lishen.

The alliance, formed on Aug 18, is gearing up to invest 100 billion yuan ($14.7 billion) in electric vehicles by 2012, according to earlier media reports. ]]> Sat, 28 Aug 2010 02:23:34 MDT admin Automotive 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/central-firms-to-buy-electric-car-technology/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/china-alliance-drives-promotion-of-electric-cars/ The alliance, formed on Wednesday, is gearing up to invest 100 billion yuan ($14.7 billion) on electric vehicles by 2012, according to media reports.

Guided by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), the alliance was formed by almost all the major players in the related sectors, including the country's top three oil majors, top two power grid operators, and two major automakers - China FAW Group Corp and Dongfeng Auto Corp.

The alliance aims to speed up research and development in vehicles, fuel cells and charging systems, as well as setting some unified standards, said SASAC Minister Li Rongrong. ]]> Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:31:31 MDT admin Automotive 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Automotive/china-alliance-drives-promotion-of-electric-cars/