Ford has big plans for the Chinese market. It wants to double its share to 6 percent of the Chinese passenger vehicle market over the next three years, Asia chief Dave Schoch told Reuters reporter Bernie Woodall in Shanghai. Read More >
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More than 100 senior managers of China’s FAW have been questioned and some have been detained over and unfolding scandal that involves more than 10 billion yuan ($1.61 billion) in assets that went missing. Read More >
Well, we were wrong. Turns out the 1.5L Ecoboost engine is a four-cylinder engine, but the intent remains the same. According to Reuters, it offers a way for Chinese buyers of the Ford Mondeo to get a tax break due to displacement.
The rest of the world is becoming just as crossover obsessed as North America, and in the premium segment, a crossover is an absolute must for any car maker. PSA’s most recent round of efforts have been pretty poor, using the Mitsubishi Outlander as a starting point, but for their upscale DS brand, PSA is starting from scratch.
Auto sales in China rose 10.88 percent in March to 2,035,100 units, data of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show. Analysts expected a more robust rise after sales grew 15 percent in the January-February period. Read More >
Maserati was supposed to debut their smaller Ghibli sedan at the Shanghai Auto Show, but the pictures have managed to surface prior to that. Not that it’s such a big shocker; it looks just like a slightly smaller Quattroporte. Powertrains will be limited to turbocharged six cylinder engines using either gas or diesel engines, mated to an 8-speed automatic engine. Ten points for anyone with enough of a sense of humor to affix “Biturbo” badges to the car. All-wheel drive will also be available.
Chinese state TV claims that the air in German cars is dangerous to people’s health. In a report, the station said that insulating materials used in cars made by Audi, BMW and Daimler create noxious odors, Der Spiegel reports. Read More >
Geely-owned Volvo has uncovered what Reuters calls “widespread cheating by its car dealers in China.” Dealers inflated sales to win cash rebates for meeting targets. An investigation found thousands of fake sales booked in 2011. In order to make books balance, 2012 sales were under reported. Read More >
They may not have western-style unions in China, but workers sure do strike. Workers at Honda’s transmission plant in Foshan, Guangdong Province, walked off the job on Monday after their pay increases weren’t as large as they had hoped. Read More >
Chinese carmakers are worried about new fuel economy standards handed down by the Chinese government today. The rules are intended to lower average fuel consumption to 6.9 liters per 100 kilometers by 2015 and then to 5.0 liters by 2020, Reuters says. Read More >
Fisker is still likely to be rescued by a Chinese savior, but it won’t be Geely. Reuters is reporting that Fisker’s outstanding obligations to the Department of Energy have scared off the Chinese auto maker, leaving Dongfeng as the sole suitor for the beleagured EV maker.
No overcapacity problems at Volkswagen – at least not globally, and especially not in China. “Within the coming years, we will build at least ten more plants – seven of those in China,” Volkswagen chief Martin Winterkorn said today in Wolfsburg, with Automobilwoche taking notes. By 2016, Volkswagen will have capacity for more than four million units in China, that’s about half of VW’s current worldwide output. Read More >
Attentive readers of TTAC have known it since the Beijing Auto Show last year that Toyota will launch a separate brand for its “new energy” (read plug-in hybrid and EV) that are produced in China. A not quite officially announced, but de facto policy wants it that way. Now we have the brand. It’s called Ranz. Read More >
A fiery red car, seen in Beijing. An aggressive bumper sticker, showing the owner is very angry with Japan. Or, judging from the sticker, maybe it’s hot love? It’s all about those islands, which happen to sit on top of oil, and straight in one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. What is this motherland-loving man driving? Read More >
Audi showed its A3 Sedan in concept form at the 2011 Geneva Auto Show. The real thing will be shown in Audi’s most important market, at the Shanghai Auto Show, end of April. The car will be sold in early 2014 in the United States and China, Reuters says. Read More >
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