When we reported that FAW will revive the monstrous Red Flag CA7600L limousine, it received mixed reviews. Some wanted it sight unseen. Others puked in the corner. Ever since I arrived in China, my secret wish had been to own the real thing, the huge handmade Red Flag car that luminaries used to drive down Chang’an Avenue. I had been told they don’t exist anymore. I had been lied to. Read More >
Sometimes I miss Bob Lutz so much it hurts. First we’re teased with rumors of a Cadillac flagship and now this: a Zeta-based Buick flagship that’s the spiritual successor to the 1996 Buick Roadmaster. The news is exciting, even if it lacks the panache of a Lutzian rear-wheel-drive screed. But you have to read a little deeper for the real punch line.
So far, auto marketers and market analysts have focused on the more than a billion people in China who do not have a car. This will remain a lucrative target for a long time. China Economic Daily has identified another attractive target group. People who already have a car. Read More >
Reacting to previously reported bad news, China’s BYD has cut its 2010 sales target by 25 percent to still quite ambitious 600,000 units, reports The Nikkei [sub]. Read More >
China’s red-hot growth numbers are coming down to earth. Which doesn’t mean that the Chinese are stopping to buy cars. We are now getting into a territory where previous year sales increases were so insane that any more outrageous growth would simply be certifiable. In July 2009, sales in China had exploded by 70 percent. A month later, in August 2009, sales nearly doubled from a year earlier. Any growth that betters these numbers is amazing. Read More >
Good news for Chinese parts makers: Volkswagen, by far the biggest brand in China, wants to gradually achieve full localization in China. In regular English: Volkswagen’s Chinese joint ventures plan to locally source all auto parts and components needed to make cars in China, and will stop importing them. Read More >
It’s that time of the month again, and welcome to another episode of Chinese Numerology. As it has become a TTAC tradition, the China Automotive Technology & Research Center jumps the gun again with an off-the-wall number. Shameless Bloomberg prints it and reports that “retail deliveries of cars, sport-utility vehicles and multipurpose vehicles rose 15.4 percent last month from a year earlier to 822,300, the China Automotive Technology & Research Center said in a statement today. That compared with 10.9 percent growth in June.” No, it did not. The CATRC is known for pretty good safety research and for awfully wrong numbers. You can safely ignore them, along with the rest of that Bloomberg tale. Read More >
With all the hubbub over Volvo, it’s easy to forget that Geely already owns a foreign carmaker: Managnese Bronze, the company that makes London’s iconic black-cabs. Well, Geely doesn’t “own” Maganese, they hold a 19.97 percent share. That is about to change. Read More >
Did we say last Thursday that the sale of Volvo from Ford to Geely „could close as soon as next week?” Did I believe it? Did I live in Chine for six years? Honestly, there was an element of surprise when, this Beijing afternoon, my inbox made that noise and there was an email from Ford, titled “Ford Motor Company Completes Sale of Volvo to Geely.” The deal is closed. Volvo is Chinese. Read More >
For more than a year, I had been on my very own propaganda mission in China (and I’m still here in Beijing to tell it.) I had urged Chinese parts manufacturers to go overseas and to buy parts houses at firesale prices. By moving closer to the customer and up the value chain, by turning from contract manufacturer to marketer, the Chinese manufacturers could realize much higher profits. By turning from contract supplier to systems house, they would be about 5 years ahead of the technology curve: A systems house is tied into the development of a car. The Boschs, Magnas, Federal Moguls of this world harbor more secrets than a Tom Clancy novel. A year ago, I wrote in China’s Gasgoo: “While the idea of buying a foreign car brand for cheap is good, the practicable choices are limited. So it’s back to buying foreign parts companies. There will be many bankrupt foreign parts companies this year to choose from, all quite cheap, most with an established presence and manufacture in China.”
Someone seems to listen, finally. But maybe a little late … Read More >
In April, everybody who walked by the FAW display at the Beijing Auto Show, yours truly included, did a double-take and took a lot of pictures upon seeing their Red Flag CA7600L monstrosity. It was a huge crowd magnet, and everybody walked away, muttering: “They’ll never build THAT.” Boy was everybody wrong. Read More >
Things did quiet down since March after Geely signed the contract to buy Volvo from Ford. A lot of people think Geely already owns Volvo. Geely doesn’t own Volvo until the deal is closed. But Geely might own Volvo as early as next week. Read More >
Where would we be without our breakfast cereal, fresh from the Chinese rumor mill? Two days ago, we wrote that Suzuki, Volkswagen, and SAIC are rumored to be working on a three-way tie-up. “Not so,” says SAIC according to Gasgoo. They denied a rumor that was spread by the competition at Suzuki’s Chinese partner Changan Auto. Read More >
China’s quality regulator has ordered the recall of 875 imported C30 vehicles. What’s wrong with the car? Nothing. Read More >
China isn’t Porsche’s largest market quite yet (it’s only a matter of time, now they are #3), but China is now officially the world’s largest market for the Porsche Cayenne. Porsche China CEO Helmut Broeker said it himself to Gasgoo. The luxo-SUV is popular with China’s well-heeled and high-ranking military figures. Read More >
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