Kevin Wale, president of GM China, is convinced that China has passed the U.S. for good as the world’s largest auto sales market. He expects China’s growth to continue, creating a gap that will be too large for the U.S. to close, says AP.

As reported ad nauseam, vehicle sales in China last year rose 46.2 percent to 13.64m units. For this year, cautious industry association projections expect somewhere between 15m and 16m units to change hands.

Wale thinks Chinese auto sales will be anywhere between 14.5m to 15.5m by the end of this year. For the U.S., analysts predict 11.5m to 12m.

Very optimistic analysts reckon the two countries could be trading places until 2015 when China firmly takes the lead. Wale isn’t one of them.  He doesn’t think the U.S. will ever regain the lead. Read More >

The U.S.A. dispatches its Secretary of State to complain to Japan about less than 8000 vehicles exported from the U.S. not benefiting from the Japanese cash-o for clunker-u. At the same time, a new car market is starting to explode, without anybody noticing: Vietnam.

Vietnam imported 76,300 units in 2009, nearly 10 times the U.S. exports to Japan. The increase was 51 percent on the year, an all-time high, the Nikkei [sub] reports. Sales of domestically manufactured vehicles were 115,000 units in 2009, up only 3 percent, but still a record. A total market of some 200,000 units is not much compared to neighbor China, but it’s a strong start. Read More >

Sometimes the xBs in my neighborhood need to get together for a little fellowship. But even though they’re all white, they’re generous enough to allow a couple of other horizontally-challenged  and colored members of the automobile species join them. Can you identify the two small cars hiding behind them? (The second car is behind the second xBox). If so; let us know, but no cheating; so don’t make the jump until you’re ready to write down your guesses: Read More >

I knew that if anyone owned, or had ever owned a 356, they’d instantly recognize its distinctive rear grille. Autopassion was the first owner up, and he also summed up the Porsche better in one short sentence than my 800 words: My beloved Porsche 356, an epiphany to all those who think they need 500 horsepower to be a man and have fun. Well said, indeed, sir; and you’re a lucky man. Enjoy.

Chrysler may file a suit challenging the congressionally mandated dealer cull arbitration, reveals CEO Sergio Marchionne to Automotive News [sub].Why? Because it’s just not fair that dealers pressured congress to give them a fair shake. Wounded by the arbitrary backlash against his arbitrary cull, Marchionne threw his head back and cried unto the heavens:

Ask me what fairness is involved in all this. Why doesn’t anyone ask what’s fair to Chrysler?

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It’s incredibly hard to figure out where MSN Autos came up with the headline  “CT&T Set to Take the EV Mainstream” for its write up on the South Korean firm’s presentation at the NAIAS. Hell, the author even admits:

Unfortunately, none of the vehicles is approved for “normal” use on America’s highways and byways. Instead, they are categorized as low-speed vehicles by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the same classification given to golf carts and other similar-sized, 4-wheeled vehicles.

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A few months back I noted that the French government was interfering in the car industry by demanding French plants stay open as a condition of their bailout of Renault. Well, things are getting even more….well….French. New York times (via Reuters) reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy has summoned Renault and Nissan CEO, Carlos Ghosn for a cosy chat. Actually, “grilling” might be better way of putting it. The invitation has come about after reports surfaced that Renault might be producing its new Clio in Turkey, rather than France. This could be considered state bullying, but the French State is a 15% shareholder in Renault. French Industry minister, Christian Estrosi made absolutely no effort to cover this coercion.

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The prospect of US launches by Chinese and Indian auto brands like Tata and BYD have at least one of the established US-market players in a paranoid froth. Honda VP John Mendel revealed a few of the nightmare scenarios that keep him up at night to USA Today [UPDATE: more on Mendel’s fears at Automotive News [sub]]. One, inspired by BYD’s plans for a 2010 US launch without a distribution channel in place, is that newcomers could skip the dealer model altogether. Mendel worries that “warehouse stores or electronics stores” (sound familiar?) could be used to cut dealers out of the loop, “blowing up” business-as-usual for US distribution strategy.

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Having divested much of its premium brand portfolio (Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin), Ford is missing out on luxury sales in growth markets like China. So it comes as no surprise that Automotive News [sub] would ask Ford President of the Americas Mark “MKF” Fields whether Ford’s Lincoln brand could go global. Fields’ reply?

Potentially, but we are focusing Lincoln here in North America for right now. We don’t have any plans at this point to take it global. That doesn’t mean in the future we wouldn’t look at that, but it’s very important for us to focus on North America.

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According to the Detroit News, production of Hummer H3 and H3T models at its Shreveport, LA plant will stop on Monday, as the in-limbo brand watches its sales collapse. H3 and H3T models account for about a quarter of the Shreveport plant’s capacity, and Colorado and Canyon platformmates will continue to be produced. Meanwhile, the deal to sell the Hummer brand to Chinese firm Sichuan Tenzhong remains unconsummated, reportedly held up by the Chinese government. So when will Hummers go back into production? “When a sale is complete, once marketing kicks back in and there is new interest and enthusiasm, production will fire back up,” says a Hummer spokesman. In other words, never. It’s been a fun ride, Hummer. Thanks for the memories!

Oh, the sad saga of the Pontaic G8. GM finally built a vehicle worthy of Pontiac’s sporty pretensions, only to can the whole brand months later, leaving the G8 orphaned. Which was crummy for enthusiasts, but ultimately a good thing for GM’s business as G8s were assembled in Australia and shipped over to the US, bleeding profit margin all the way. Then came news that a G8-alike would be built in North America, but would only be marketed to police fleet buyers as a Caprice. “Insult to injury!” shrieked the slighted fans of V8 RWD sedans. What they didn’t realize was that GM was still in injury mode. For the real insult, we turn now to the Carpoint.com.au [via Jalopnik], which reports that consumers can still buy new Pontiac G8s. In Australia. Sort of.

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After backing away from the ridiculous torque figures it gave with its R8-based e-tron, Audi is having another crack at the electric sportscar theme with a second e-tron concept at the NAIAS. Of course by not giving it a new name, Audi created the impression that this might be a very similar concept to the R8-based model it says its going to build at some point. The e-tron mk II is, however, a very different beast. Where as the first e-tron was an electrification and restyling of the R8, the e-tron 2 actually previews the look of an eventual R4 sportscar, based on Volkswagen’s Blue Sport concept. If Audi eventually sells an EV version of that vehicle (and they say the e-tron name will become a brand for Audi EVs) and it’s materially the same as this concept, it would be the first RWD production Audi since… well, why don’t we have some guesses?

Chrysler’s sales fell 36 percent last year, as bankruptcy and some of the weakest products on the market conspired to keep sales and market share trending downwards. CEO Sergio Marchionne figures Chrysler’s slide has hit bottom, and indeed his turnaround hinges on considerable improvement over last year’s dismal numbers. How much improvement? Marchionne tells the Freep that ChryCo needs to sell 1.1m vehicles in the US next year, an 18 percent improvement on 2009’s number, in order to reach his break-even projections. Worldwide, Chrysler needs to sell 1.65m vehicles, or 27 percent more than last year. Given the downward sales and market share momentum, the overall uncertainty of the US market, and the lack of new products until the end of this year, reaching those volume numbers won’t be easy. Especially because Marchionne refuses to cut any corners.

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GM has a tough row to hoe in 2010, with the launches of key products like the Cruze and Volt going on sale, an IPO to worry about, and a sales slide (down 30 percent for 2009) to reverse. Still, according to GM’s new North American boss Mark Reuss, navigating the congressionally-mandated dealer arbitration is the top challenge of the coming year. At a speech last night, Reuss told reporters from Automotive News [sub] that:

I welcome this as an opportunity for GM and the dealership network to go through a change in our network with integrity,

As opposed to the arbitrary bankruptcy-era dealer cull?
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Apparently.