The NY Auto Show? Let’s talk about what is not there: The star of the Geneva Auto Show, the gas-electric hybrid Porsche 918 Spyder Concept. It is not there because it’s, as Motortrend reports, “en route to the Beijing Auto Show.” (Read More…)

As you are reading this, worker bees in the employ of Volkswagen are putting the last touches on a revamped model of the venerable Phaeton, overtime be damned. When everything is in Ordnung and the Spaltmass (panel gap) is as tight as a vise, the Phaeton will be loaded on the next Lufthansa freighter, and – eat your heart out, Jack Baruth – it will be flown to Beijing. As China Daily has it, “Volkswagen AG is speeding up a face-lift of the $88,000 Phaeton sedan in time to unveil the model at the Beijing auto show and target China’s millionaires.” (Read More…)

A few days ago, we reported that Toyota had caved in to demands of the Commerce Bureau and the Consumer Protection Committee of China’s Zhejiang Province. Under the agreement, Toyota will reimburse Zhejiang customers for losses sustained from the RAV4 recall. Toyota will send people to pick up and deliver the affected vehicles, and will provide a loaner while the car is in the shop. The whole thing was started by New York’s AG Andrew Cuomo who strong-armed Toyota into supplying similar services to recall-affected residents of the Empire State. The Zhejiang-accord had The Nikkei [sub] worried: “Such an agreement could lead to demands for similar deals from customers in not only other provinces, but also other countries.” It didn’t take long. (Read More…)

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon approved a $185m settlement between Daimler, the Department of Justice (DOJ,) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Feds had alleged that Daimler violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by drowning foreign government officials in money and gifts until they relented and ordered Daimler products. According to Reuters, Daimler’s German and Russian units each agreed to plead guilty to two minor counts of violating U.S. anti-bribery laws. Its China subsidiary will be subject to the two-year deferred prosecution agreement as well. That said, the bad boys from Sindelfingen may go forth and sin no more. Except for one niggling detail … (Read More…)

When you are a Chinese car company, especially one that is mostly government owned, reporting profits is not one of your prime objectives. As long as you don’t lose money hand over fist, as long as you provide jobs for many people, as long as you grow in market share and influence, having money left over is sometimes just a (taxable) nuisance. But in times like these, it’s unavoidable. And it doesn’t hurt your stock when you are a publicly traded company. Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, better known as SAIC, has announced that their net profit for 2009 jumped 900 percent from the previous year, reaching a record of nearly $1b ($966m, to be exact.) (Read More…)

It’s that time of the month again: In the first days of the month, market observers in China eagerly await the GM China sales number. GM usually is first to report. What’s more, GM is the canary in the (ooops) Chinese coal mine, a very good indicator for the overall market. Looking back at March, that canary happily tweets that GM’s March sales in China, including Wuling vans, accelerated 68 percent to 230,048 units. Shanghai GM’s sales of Buicks, Chevys, and a few Cadillacs rose 89 percent annually to 86,967 units. That according to Associated Press. This is another record Middle Kingdom month for GM, the 15^th in a row, and it indicates a March surprise for the Chinese market. (Read More…)

Speaking of car sales in the Far East, the whisper number for China points to another solid month when March sales in the world’s largest car market will be announced next week.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters are expecting a 30-40 percent rise in sales of passenger vehicles for March. (Read More…)

Inspired by the Volvo-Geely deal, Automotive News Europe [sub]’s Luca Ciferri contemplates the unthinkable:

Back in 1986 Ford offered to buy nearly 20 percent of Alfa with its stake rising to 100 percent if a turnaround plan for the struggling government-owned brand succeeded…. But the venerable sports car maker is still European. Its destiny is decided in Turin. If Ford had bought Alfa, the brand probably would be now owned by a Chinese automaker…. I wonder how the Alfisti would react to the prospect of decisions on future Alfa cars being taken near Beijing. I wonder what the unions would say if they had to learn Chinese?

Well Luca, infamous Italian xenophobia aside, perhaps the better question would be could Alfa really be any worse off than it currently is? If the brand manages to survive the year under its blessedly Italian leadership, it will be lumped into a GM-style “brand channel” and its new products will be based on Chrysler’s leftovers. Oh, and there’s no guarantee that it will survive its “strategic review” at all, as Fiat has said there’s a chance that Alfa won’t survive past another year. So who knows, maybe the Chinese will end up with Alfa sooner than Ciferri might imagine.

Yesterday, Chinese site auto.sina.com had what our Ed Niedermeyer called “a belly-laugher of a wild-ass rumor: they say BYD has its eye on Daimler’s zombie luxury brand Maybach.” Funny as it may be, media all over the world jumped on the story. Now, the story is heading right to Snopes. After what must have been a round of heated phone calls between Stuttgart and Shenzhen, Daimler denounced the dumb-ass tale: (Read More…)

While India is still waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for volume production of their ballyhooed Nano, the cars-for-pygmies segment is in overdrive in neighboring China. It’s hard to keep them apart. When Chery launched the QQ in 2003, taking a bit more than just design cues from the Daewoo Matiz (a.k.a Chevrolet Spark) Car and Driver called the QQ a “carbon copy.” GM called their lawyers. After three years in court, the spat led to nothing, except that Chery can’t sell cars in the US under its own name due to the similarity between “Chery” and “Chevy.” In the meantime, the QQ is a runaway hit in China. Hits attract admirers. There’s a new copy in the house! (Read More…)

A few weeks ago, we reported that the commerce bureau and consumer protection committee of China’s Zhejiang Province’s called on Toyota to compensate drivers for costs stemming from its recall of the RAV4. The bureau wanted that Toyota supplies loaner cars while the RAV4 is in the shop (Toyota says the reflash takes 30 minutes.) The Chinese also suggested that Toyota compensates drivers for gasoline and other expenses involved in bringing cars back to dealerships. At the time, Toyota had a polite “no thanks,” for the request. Now, Toyota changed their minds. They will pay. (Read More…)

Chinese site auto.sina.com [via thetycho.com] has a belly-laugher of a wild-ass rumor: they say BYD has its eye on Daimler’s zombie luxury brand Maybach. The rumor is clearly based on the fact that BYD and Daimler recently closed a cooperation deal, in which they will jointly build vehicles in China for sale under a new brand name. But beyond that, there’s not much to go on. From what I can tell from the Google Translate version of the story, auto.sina.com seems to have an anonymous source in BYD that on March 23 divulged:

BYD is on the matter and approached Daimler, Daimler announced soon abandoned the brand, BYD Auto will soon be underway acquisition action.

(Read More…)

Last Friday, a Rely X5 SUV rolled off the assembly lines of Chery Auto in Wuhu, Anhui Province, China. It was Chery’s 2 millionth car and won Chery the coveted membership in China’s “Two Million Club.” According to People’s Daily, Chery is the first non-state owned car maker to produce more than 2 million cars in China. Chery ranks fifth after Shanghai Volkswagen, FAW Volkswagen, Shanghai GM and Guangzhou Honda. (Read More…)

Some people think that Geely’s acquisition of Ford’s Volvo is driven by the desire for sorely needed know-how for China’s auto industry. Who thinks that way is “totally underestimating” the technological advances made by businesses in the Far East. This comes from none less than GM’s Nick Reilly. If anyone understands the true capabilities of the Chinese Auto industry, then it’s Reilly. He’s been there, in charge of a big part of China’s auto industry. He knows: Geely’s Volvo purchase can mean the great leap forward for Chinese car exports. (Read More…)

As predicted by TTAC, the sale of Volvo from Ford to China’s Geely will be signed this Sunday. A Volvo spokesman confirmed this today to Reuters. Details of the deal will be announced at a news conference in the Swedish city of Gothenburg. (Read More…)