Boding not well for the Chinese market, our patent pending China sales oracle GM China reports 4.6 percent fewer sales in April than in April 2010.

Well, actually GM does not report that. Reuters does. Read More >

Beijing closed the book on the tit-for-tat saga that had started with the U.S. slapping punitive tariffs on Chinese tires. China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) issued a final ruling today, declaring that the United States has dumped subsidized sedans and sport utility vehicles with engine displacement of 2.5 liters or bigger on the Chinese market, writes China’s state-owned new agency Xinhua. According top the MOC, this has harmed China’s domestic auto manufacturing industries. Then, China did nothing. Read More >

Would you buy a Buick Park Avenue Davos World Economic Forum 2011 Special Edition?  No? GM China thinks the Chinese will disagree with you and will snap up the “Buick Park Avenue 2011 Boao Forum for Asia Special Edition.” What is a Boao Forum? Glad I asked. As CarNewsChina tells us, “the Boao Forum is an economic conference comparable to the famous Davos Forum but focused on Asia.” And now it gets complicated: Read More >

We have documented extensively how Beijing’s license plate lottery mucked-up the car market of China’s capital. Now, Beijingers found a creative way to get their sought-after license play without bothering Lady Luck: They go to court. Read More >

There is a Police Equipment Show in Beijing, and it’s a meeting of the minds: Chinese cops want to get out of their Santana wagons (read gen 2 Passat Variant), and Chinese carmakers want a slice of the lucrative government pie. Our friend Tycho of ChinaCarNews (formerly known as TheTycho.com) went to the show and took his camera along. Above a uniformed Shanghai-Volkswagen Passat Lingyu, the logical successor of the ubiquitous Shanghai-Volkswagen Santana. More Chinese police after the jump … Read More >

One of Jack Baruth’s many great contributions to modern auto writing is “Mr Euro,” an archetype he first identified in his excellent Ford Fiesta review. According to Jack’s original taxonomy:

Mr. Euro is the guy who, for some reason, wants the cars he cannot have in the United States. He’s the guy who says he would drive a 520i “in a heartbeat” given the chance, the dude who thinks we’re missing out because the Renault Twingo stays on the froggy side of the pond, the fellow who desperately wants a Vauxhall Zafira for child-lugging purposes.

Now, I hope I manage to avoid the most extreme expressions of the stereotype Jack describes here, but yeah, I’ve got some “Mr Euro”-ish tendencies. What can I say, the grass just looks greener on the other side… sue me. In that spirit, follow along as I explain why I’m leaving this dump and moving to China.

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China is getting a double dose of Volkswagen Passat. The new generation B7 Passat will hit China’s streets in a longer wheelbase version, to provide legroom for the boss in the back while the driver up front braves the crazy Chinese traffic. Just like the previous-gen B6, the car will be built by Volkswagen’s northern joint venture with FAW and will be sold under the Magotan name. “Passat” was already taken by Volkswagen’s southern joint venture, more on that below. Read More >

As expected, troubled Saab has been thrown a lifeline by China’s Hawtai. Spyker announced today that its Swedish unit Saab has secured €150 million ($222.5 million) in funding from Hawtai. The Chinese company will be able to produce and sell Saab cars in China.

Hawtai will invest €120 million for a 29.9 percent stake in Spyker and provide a €30 million ($44.6 million) convertible loan to Saab. If the convert is exercised (which is pretty much a given – it matures in 6 months with a 7 percent interest rate) it converts at €4.88 a share, says the Wall Street Journal. Read More >

Saab and the Chinese automaker Hawtai will announce “an exciting strategic partnership between both parties” at a press conference scheduled for tomorrow, reports MarketWatch. According to Saab/Spyker CEO Victor Muller,

the deal involves “investing in Spyker.”

Hawtai was previously a joint venture partner of Hyundai, and had been approached by Chrysler as a possible partner. The firm reportedly has an annual production capacity of 350k vehicles, 450k automatic transmissions and 300k (Euro IV and V-compliant) diesel engines built under license from VM Motori. The B11 (above) is the firm’s first own-brand sedan, although over the next three years the firm has “plans to launch six more diesel or diesel-electric hybrid passenger cars.” According to chinaautoweb, Hawtai’s gamble on its giant diesel engine plant, the largest and most sophisticated in Asia, may not be panning out as diesel availability has been an issue in the Chinese market, due to high demand from the trucking industry.

Saab’s got a new short-term lease on life, as Automotive News Europe [sub] reports that the Swedish brand has secured a €30m, six-month convertible loan from Gemini Investment Fund. Saab is also requesting a €29.1 drawdown of its EIB loan, and when that is approved next week, Saab will reach the €59.1m in liquidity it needs to restart production. According to another piece by Automotive News [sub], Saab is still in talks with the Chinese automakers Great Wall Motor Co., China Youngman Automobile Group Co. and Jiangsu Yueda Group Co. in hopes of securing an additional investment in the struggling Swedish automaker, as well as a joint venture for Chinese production of the next-generation 9-3, and a possible Chinese market distribution deal.

Meanwhile, Saabsunited reports that several companies have been told to stop development on that next-gen 9-3 while the company gets back on its feet, meaning it could be delayed into the 2013 timeframe. And while Saab sacrifices long-term development for short-term survival, the recent production shutdown is taking its toll: Swedish sales of the 9-3 are up, but the new 9-5 is falling off (128 sold last month) as stocks dry up. The drama continues…

Saab will either be owned by Russians or Chinese. That’s the way it looks today. Which is no guarantee that it will look the same on Monday. Read More >

Today, 3,700 employees of Saab received an invitation to come to an all hands meeting tomorrow, Wednesday. It will be a break from the doldrums. In Trollhättan, the lines have been down for three weeks now because Saab has no money to pay parts suppliers, reports Automobilwoche [sub]. Tuesday ended in Sweden without a solution. Suppliers, unions and Swedish politicians demand immediate action, or Saab will go down the drain.

Talk about a Chinese savior has died down. All hopes hinge on Vladimir Antonov, and the sale of the factory to the Russian, well, business man. The problem is: The real estate is collateral for a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). Saab told Automobilwoche that the sale is “no sure” due to harsh demands by the EIB. Read More >

Ever since Bertel showed us the newest version of the Buick GL8 minivan, with its “Business Concept”-inspired design and executive airport shuttle mission, we’ve been curious about the chances of it coming to the US. After all, GM hasn’t sold a minivan in the US since the Uplander died in 2009, a far cry from the 336,000-odd minivans The General sold in America just ten years before. But when we asked our Best and Brightest if Buick could use a minivan, the response was a fairly resounding “no.” One particularly uncharitable soul even suggested that we were trying to goad GM into making a mistake in order to have something to bash them for. But, as it turns out, GM’s US execs didn’t need to be goaded at all to consider bringing the GL8 to the US market. GM China boss Kevin Wales tells Reuters [via the Baltimore Sun] that

They’ve looked at it on and off as long as I’ve been out here. They’ve made a fundamental decision that says demand for that type of product’s not strong enough. We say that’s fine. We’ll just keep selling out here.”

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Did I say that China is trying to clamp down on displays of conspicuous consumption? A young couple in the city of Zhengzhou in Zhejiang Province did not get the memo. At their wedding, guests arrived in Rolls Royce Phantoms, Rolls Royce Ghosts, Rolls Royce Silver Saraphs, Bentley Continentals, Bentley Arnages, Lamborghini Gallardos, Ferrari 458s and some lesser models. Tip of the hat to Tycho at CarNewsChina.

Lenses at the Shanghai Auto Show definitely test both sides of the envelope. Some photographers came  with lenses long and wide enough to take close-ups of concept cars shown on the moon. Read More >