Gasgoo Blog

Gasgoo.com -Geely’s first SUV, the EX7, will be marketed and sold via its Gleagle dealer network, the Beijing Times reported today.

The EX7 (pictured) was originally planned to be sold under the Emgrand label. However, in light of market demands, Geely decided to rebadge the SUV as a Gleagle model. Meanwhile, Geely will introduce a brand new luxury SUV next year, named the EX8, to be sold under the Emgrand brand. The EX8 will be powered by either 2.4 L gas-powered or 2.0 L diesel engine, mated to either a six-speed manual, six-speed automatic or seven-speed DCT.

Gasgoo.com  – FAW Volkswagen’s much anticipated own brand car, the Kaili E88 electric, will be produced at the joint venture’s Foshan factory, the Beijing Times reported today. Plans are being finalized, with production slated to begin in the end of 2013.

FAW-VW officials revealed last week that the Kaili will be structurally based on the New Bora electric (pictured above). However, the Kaili will have entirely new exterior design closer to GM and Volvo’s offerings. The car’s battery and motor systems will be entirely independently designed. The car will reportedly measure 4.54 meters long, with a wheelbase of 2.6 meters.

The Kaili is an important model for the FAW-VW joint venture and a critical project for its Foshan production site. Although many enterprises, both domestic and foreign, are researching electric vehicles, the actual number of EVs on the market is quite small, making it hard to predict how the Kaili will do.

Gasgoo.com  - Volvo Cars held a press conference in Beijing earlier this week, with Senior Vice President for China Operations Shen Hui, Global Marketing President Richard Monturo and Chinese Sales President and Executive Chairman Richard Snijders all making an appearance. At the event, Volvo executives announced their new global ‘people-first’ strategy for the brand.

Volvo’s new strategy will revolve around on building product design and engineering around consumer needs, in order to both improve the individual, technological, safety and driver-related aspects of the manufacturer’s products, as well as to promote the quality of its dealer network and customer service. Volvo hopes to make use of its experience as a prestigious Western luxury brand.

Volvo’s development in the Chinese market has been stable, with the manufacturer having progressed from having one small sales company to establishing a complete regional headquarters with a qualified local management team. Volvo already has 117 dealers to date, and plans to open ten new training centers within the year. The manufacturer sold over 21,000 vehicles in the first half of the year, 36 percent higher than its 2010 performance. Volvo’s plans to establish a new factory in Daqing, Heilongjiang are currently waiting government approval.

Gasgoo.com  – Following news of a Chery-Subaru joint venture, Liaoning province’s capital city and leading automobile manufacturing center Dalian has become the focus point of media attention. The city is home to Chery’s new production site, which looks to be completed by the end of the year. The factory may begin production by 2013, auto.163.com reported.

In addition to Subaru vehicles, the factory, located in the Dalian Development Area, will reportedly be responsible for the production of Chery Riich and Rely brand vehicles, as well as exported models. The Dalian Development Area is home to manufacturing sites for over ten global enterprises, including Forbes 500-listed company Johnson Controls.

Many manufacturer’s have sites set up in Dalian, which is famed for its logistics services. The 3 billion yuan ($472.4m) factory is located only around 50 km from the city’s center. It will contain welding, painting, chassis and other assembly facilities. Production on the site reportedly began last May, with the basic structure already being completed. It is predicted to begin production in 2013. Chery is also planning on establishing a training center at the site.

According to reports, the Chery-Subaru venture is currently awaiting official approval. The two manufacturers have reportedly agreed on the general framework for cooperation.

Gasgoo.com- Jianghuai Automobile (JAC Motors) has is currently undergoing sales restructuring, nbd.com.cn reported today. According to sources from within the Anhui-based manufacturer, JAC is dividing its sales divisions into two, with one responsible for minivans and SUVs such as the Refine and Rein, while the other will administer sales of sedans, including the Heyue and Tongyue. JAC has yet to give a clear timetable for when the restructuring will be fully complete.

The news comes as sales of JAC’s key minivan and light truck segments continue to slow, with second-quarter sales among each segment falling 33 percent and 12.1 percent, respectively. The poor sales performance has affected company profits and is seen as a key factor behind the decision to restructure. Industry analysts believe that JAC’s problems are a result of the manufacturer’s branching across more and more segments without a properly through management team. 

JAC sold 268,000 vehicles in the first half of this year, growing slightly higher than the industry average. Worth attention is the strong growth in JAC’s sedan sales (80,800 units), which helped nullify increasingly stagnant minivan sales (33,200 units). The manufacturer’s returns in the first half of the year totaled 17.44 billion yuan ($2.74b).

The manufacturer hopes to attain annual production capability of 1.6 million vehicles by the end of the Twelfth Five-Year Guideline national economic directive ending in 2015. Passenger vehicles are planned to constitute over 60 percent of that number.

Gasgoo.com – As plans to expand domestic Chinese production of Mercedes-Benz cars develop further, rival luxury brand Audi is instead embarking on importing more vehicles to the country.

On the unveiling night of Audi’s R8 Spyder Matrix (pictured above), FAW-VW Sales Executive Vice President Zhang Xiaojun told the Beijing Youth Daily that the joint venture would be bringing over a slew of new Audi vehicles to the country, in order to both increase its brand image and lay the foundation for eventual domestic production.

According to Mr. Zhang, although the joint venture’s domestically manufactured vehicles were all leaders in their respective segments, the true appeal behind FAW-VW’s Audi vehicles lies in their foreign charm. As a result, a key goal of the JV is to import more models to China. The number of Audis imported more than doubled from last year, with the total amount from January to July exceeding 30,000 units. In addition to the R8 Spyder and A8L (pictured below), Audi will be bringing over the A1 subcompact and A7 Sportback wagon in the latter half of the year.

Despite the recent declines in the automobile market, Mr. Zhang believes that prospects for luxury vehicles in China will continue to remain bright for many years to come. If Mr. Zhang’s assessment is correct, Audi should have no problem fulfilling its 2015 sales goal of 700,000 vehicles.

Gasgoo.com  – FAW-Volkswagen has only 28 dealers active in Guangdong province, ten less than fellow joint venture Shanghai VW, xkb.com.cn reported today. 

The shortage is reportedly keeping FAW-VW’s Magotan (pictured) from competing with the province’s top four selling vehicles: Chevy Camaro, Nissan Teana, Honda Accord and Toyota Reiz. The Magoton is comfortably seated in seventh place, ahead of the Mazda6, Honda Spirior, Skoda Superb and VW New Passat. Although the Magoton is presently doing better than the New Passat, analysts expect the latter to catch up before long.

In addition to Shanghai VW, the number of Guangdong FAW-VW 4S dealers is far behind its other competitors, Dongfeng Nissan, FAW Toyota, Guangqi Honda, Guangqi Toyota and Buick. Additionally, several of its dealers have been reporting poor sales or even losses in recent years.

Gasgoo.com - The China Automobile Trading Company has gained official approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to begin trading A shares, the Beijing Times reported today.

According to an official announcement, CATC is preparing to receive 100 percent of the resources and debts of its sister company Dingsheng Tiangong Construction Machinery. After the transaction is completed, CATC will be allowed to trade A shares via Dingsheng Tiangong. Ding Hongxiang, CEO of CATC, said that his company should be listed soon.

After being listed, CATC will follow Zhejiang Yuantong and Pangda to be the country’s third largest automobile dealer networking company. The company is China’s leading network of import automobile dealerships, with its dealers specializing in Opel, GM, Buick, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Mitsubishi, VW, Ford and Lexus vehicles, among other brands.