In the Chinese market, Buick is kind of a big deal. Driven by emperors in pre-Communist times, the brand has carved itself a nice as a premium automaker that’s still accessible to the middle class. Most of their products are carried over from the American market (though built locally), but some, like the GL8 minivan...
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Volvo CEO Stefan Jacoby announced a pilot project that will see 1,000 plug-in hybrid models based on the C30 hatchback. The vehicles will be offered in unspecified European and Chinese locations, as well as California. The plug-in hybrids are part of an approach to meet growing demands for environmentally friendly vehicles, as well as boost...
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China is looking at doing away with their mandatory rule forcing automakers to enter into 50/50 joint ventures with local Chinese auto makers. This arrangement allows Chinese automakers to gain knowledge from auto makers that are already established, allowing for a an accelerated learning curve while keeping some of the profits at home. However, the...
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General Motors upcoming IPO is attracting a lot of attention, not least from Chinese car manufacturer SAIC. A long time partner of the General, SAIC is looking to buy a significant portion of GM’s IPO, and with nearly $6 billion in cash reserves, the company is in a good position to do so. According to...
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General Motors’ Chinese division is on track to outsell its American unit, a not entirely surprising development in light of the sheer enormity of China’s auto market. GM China has been bolstered by the strength of their two domestic nameplates, Baojun and Wulin (seen above), which are popular in export markets as well as in...
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The Chinese market has a series of peculiar tastes, the most well-known being their love of stretched mid-size sedans. While China gets cars like the BMW 7-Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and other full-size luxury cars, stretched versions of everything from the BMW 5-Series to the Skoda Superb come in long-wheelbase versions, ostensibly for budding executives who...
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Buick‘s upcoming Verano subcompact, a twin of the Chevrolet Cruze, will be built at GM’s Orion, Michigan plant alongside the upcoming Chevrolet Aveo. The announcement comes as part of GM revealing details of their $145 million investment in the plant, which is expected to retain 1,550 jobs as well. The Verano is currently for sale...
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Volvo is set to enter the World Touring Car Championship in 2011, and while the brand isn’t normally associated with motorsports, the Volvo 850 wagon had a previous campaign in the British Touring Car Championship, where it was famous for being a station wagon, and having a penchant for going up on three wheels. Now,...
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Nissan has announced a new brand for the Chinese market, known as Venucia, or Qi Chen in Chinese. The cars will be developed, launched and sold in partnership of Dongfeng Nissan, the local arm of the Japanese automaker. “In the future, we aim to sell more than one million vehicles annually and the new brand...
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Go ahead and raise your hand if you’ve made a ridiculous bet while out drinking with a few of your friends. Admit it, we all have and most of the time we never follow through and just hope everyone else forgot about the night before. But not Li Guiwen. This army driver from Beijing stuck...
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General Motors is hoping to expand their Opel nameplate beyond its traditional European markets to places like China, Australia, South America and other unspecified Asian countries. GM is hoping to leverage Opel’s premium brand image to expand its lineups in places where the General lacks a foothold in that market segment. Chevrolet (and Holden) are...
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China’s Ministry of Commerce and its National Development and Reform Commission has signed off on a deal that will let Chinese carmaker Geely to purchase Volvo from Ford for $1.8 billion. “We have received all approvals required from the central government,” Ning Shuyong a spokesman from Geely, told Reuters. “We are currently working on closing...
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Optimus Prime famously uttered “freedom is the right of all sentient beings”, but one of his fans, a 14 year old boy from China took the liberty of drinking gasoline in a quest to emulate his Autobot hero. The boy was apparently inspired to drink gasoline after seeing Optimus Prime on TV, and wishing to...
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A former GM employee and her husband have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Detroit in an industrial spying case. Ex-GM worker Shanshan Du and her husband Yu Qin are accused of photocopying thousands of documents relating to hybrid vehicle technology. Prosecutors allege that the couple attempted to pass the documents on to...
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The Ford Escape has been around for nearly a decade now, but it may live on even after it leaves the North American market. Reports say that Chinese automaker Jiangling will acquire the tooling for the first generation Ford Escape, which was sold in certain world markets as the Ford Maverick. The rumors have appeared...
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As the Chevrolet brand moves upmarket outside of North America, General Motors needed to create a new entry level brand to sell cars in China, now the largest auto market in the world. In conjunction with Chinese partners SAIC and Wuling, GM has created the Baojun brand, which literally means “treasured horse”. Baojun is expected...
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China’s Geely is planning on moving 150,000 Volvos in China by 2015, a prediction that could very well come true in the world’s largest car market. According to reports, Geely will manufacture the Volvo XC60 and S60 in China by 2011, while discontinuing production the S40 compact sedan at its Chinese factories. Geely will establish...
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The Chinese auto market has a strange fascination with stretched versions of compact and mid-size sedans, the the stretched BMW 5-Series (pictured), the Audi A4L and the stretched Mercedes-Benz E-Class to name a few. BMW wants a bigger piece of the action and is teaming of with Chinese automaker Brilliance (yes, that Brilliance) to build...
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China is the world’s biggest auto market in the world, so it might not be so surprising that China is also Hyundai‘s new biggest market, after the automaker sold more cars in China than Korea for the second straight month. Buoyed by the success of the Yuedong (aka our Elantra) and the Tuscon crossover, Hyundai...
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Nearly 13 years ago today, Britain handed over sovereignty of Hong Kong to the Chinese government, ending a 99-year lease on the territory, and signaling the end of a British presence in China. Now, reports from various news agencies say that India’s Tata Motors is looking at building Jaguar and Land Rover assembly plants in China. Like...
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Daimler, parent company of Mercedes-Benz and BYD, China’s fastest growing car company, established a joint venture to develop electric cars in China. Based in the industrial city of Shenzen, the two companies respective experience with electric cars complements one another. BYD is experienced with battery and drivetrain systems, while Daimler will bring their knowledge of...
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Honda was forced to shut down all four of its Chinese car plants, after 1,850 workers at an auto parts plant went on strike over wages. The strike is reported to have crippled Honda’s production capability in what is now the world’s largest car market. The lack of parts means that Honda is unable to...
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The Chinese city of Shenzen recieved a fleet of 40 electric taxicabs last week, marking a historic milestone for China and electric vehicles. The taxis, made by Chinese automaker BYD have a top speed of 140 km/h, and are capable of getting 300 miles on a single charge.BYD, backed by American investor Warren Buffet, is...
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Buick‘s version of the Chevrolet Cruze, known in China as the Excelle, has been caught undisguised again, this time in sporty GT trim. The Excelle uses the same platform as the Chevrolet Cruze and Opel Astra, and even uses the same 1.4L, 138 horsepower turbo four-cylinder, but the Excelle also gets a bigger, 1.6L version...
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