The usually quite reliable Chinacartimes has it from the not always reliable auto.sohu.com that Ford and Geely have reached a deal for Volvo. According to Sohu, the Chinese-owned Volvo will put a production line into Dongguan City in Guangdong Province, one of China’s rustbelts. Supposedly, the first Geely owned Volvo is a XC90 SUV.
As BS lacks the necessary puthongua, Ms. Zhang, my trusted Chinese adjutant, translated the Sohu report as follows:
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China’s auto industry has more than 100 companies. The Chinese government has been strongly suggesting that this number gets more manageable through mergers and acquisitions. One of these mergers seems to be on its way.
If China’s 21st Century Business Herald (translation via Gasgoo) is not mistaken (and the Herald is far from infallible) FAW and Brilliance are talking about a wedding.
China Business News [via Gasgoo] reports that Automotive Industry Holding (BAIC) is miffed. They’re walking from any Opel, Saab and Volvo deals. BAIC will not engage in more talks— for the time being. China Business Daily claims to have a source on the inside.
Tengzhong’s bid for Hummer brand “is normal behavior for a company seeking to take advantage of the global downturn to broaden its horizons,” a spokesman of China’s Ministry of Commerce said according to Reuters. “Against the backdrop of the global financial crisis, it is rational and normal for Chinese companies to adopt an international outlook,” MofCom spokesman Yao Jian told reporters.
Does that mean that China’s government will approve the deal? They may, or may not. Sympathy for “normal behavior” doesn’t equal a big red rubber stamp. And none has been asked for . . .
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The German government is sending strong signals to GM to move on the Opel deal with Magna — or else. Their message: “Get on with it, or Opel will be Chinese.”
China’s quality watchdog found cars made by Renault to have severe safety problems. China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) banned the Laguna Ph2, Scenic/Long Scenic, Megane Ph2 and Megane Ph2 Coupe-Cabriolet, Xinhua reports.
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Undeterred by the alleged frugality trend, Reuters held their Global Luxury Summit in swanky Paris. At this occasion, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, CEO of the pricey bubbly that goes by the same name, said: “I am a happiness producer. Figures do not interest me.” The Chinese are taking the same posture.
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Beijing Auto, a.k.a. BAIC, is not giving up on its aspirations for owning a western brand. They came a little late in the race for Opel, and were used as bogeymen to pressure everybody into an 11th hour deal (which is in doubt). Just two days ago, BAIC was rumored to covet Saab. What else is for sale? Ah, yes, Volvo. The WSJ has it on good authority that BAIC “has expressed interest in acquiring Volvo, becoming the second Chinese company to eye the Swedish unit of Ford Motor Co.” The first Chinese company wooing Volvo of course is Geely—maybe.
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China’s BAIC is not giving up on its aspirations to buy a foreign brand, if Gasgoo is not mistaken. Beijing Automotive Industry Corp (BAIC), already a joint venture partner of Germany’s Daimler in China, may bid for General Motors’ Saab unit. Saab piqued their interest, as BAIC’s attempt to acquire Opel looks unlikely to succeed—at least for now.
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China’s automobile sales will “definitely break the 10-million-unit barrier” in 2009, says the China Passenger Car Association. Scratch that. The association said that “automobiles sales in China will touch 11 million units this year, on the basis of the total number of vehicles sold across the country in the first five months.” The forecast wasn’t made by reading green tea leaves. Sales have risen for the fifth consecutive month. May left everybody stunned with a 55 percent rise. China’s double digit growth came to a screeching halt last year. Now China is off to the races again and feeds dust to all others.
From early indications, we assumed that May car sales would be great in China. Yet, we admit being kept speechless by the news that China’s car sales rocketed up 55 percent in May. That’s the most since the beginning of this year, data from China Passenger Car Association shows. And it’s the biggest growth China has seen in a long time.
The sale of Hummer to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy may run afoul of the government, Bloomberg reports. The Chinese government. After Hummer hit the wires on Tuesday, there were increasing rumors in Beijing that China’s central government is not particularly thrilled. The acquisition runs contrary to two of China’s declared goals.
Yi, China wants fuel efficient vehicles and not hydrocarbon hungry Hummers.
Er, China wants to desperately consolidate its more than 100 (nobody is really sure) automakers to a manageable number. The goal is to merge China’s 14 largest automakers into 10 by 2011, and let the others fade away. A new entry, and one that is supposedly owned by a mining baron is all they need.
The sale of the Hummer brand to a widely unknown maker of cement mixers and bridge pontoons, located in China’s wild west of Chengdu, left many questions open.
Like, how much did they pay?
Sick of sinking car sales? Two choices: Relocate to Germany. Or go to China. In both countries, #4 and #3 on the world’s GDP ranking, cars are flying off dealer lots at breakneck speed.
In Germany, Abwrackprämien-powered new car registrations rose nearly 40 percent in May, compared to May 2008, Automobilwoche [sub] reports. Forty friggen percent! And we thought 19.4 percent in April was strong. In the first 5 months, 1.63 million units were sold to Deutschland’s motorists. In the beginning of the year, everybody in Germany was worried that sales could be less than 3 million cars for the whole year. Now, im Gegenteil: 2009 looks like a record breaker.
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As the news of Hummer’s sale to a widely unknown Chinese maker of cement mixers and bridge pontoons hit the wires, James Taylor was on a plane to Chengdu, China. The city, close to the golden triangle was hitherto more famous for its illicit substances and certain kinds of clubs. Now, it will be Hummer Central. Hummer CEO James Taylor (no relation to Sweet Baby James), went to Chengdu to shake hands with his new employers. They’ll keep him for now.
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