Automobile | AsiaLynx

AsiaLynx Top Stories – 1/5/2010

AsiaLynx Top Stories 05.01.2010 Comments Off

Beijing airport getting mostly back to normal following snow: Beijing Capital International Airport reported 231 delayed and 40 canceled outbound flights as of 2 p.m. Tuesday after record heavy snow paralyzed the airport earlier in the week. Services were mostly back to normal with the three runways all open Tuesday thanks to more than 300 workers who worked for 60 hours to clear the snow and ice, said a spokesman for the airport management department. The airport authorities attributed the disruption mainly to bad weather in airports outside Beijing… (Via Business – People’s Daily Online.)

China Becomes Top Exporter: China took over the mantle of the world’s top merchandise exporter from Germany in 2009, aided by a global economic crisis that has taken a greater toll on other trading powers. (Via WSJ.com: What’s News Asia.)

Taiwan’s Xiabu Xiabu Opens 100th Restaurant On The Mainland: Xiabu Xiabu, a Taiwan-invested hotpot restaurant chain, has opened its 100th restaurant in Daxing, Beijing. Following registration in Beijing in 1998, Xiabu Xiabu opened its first restaurant in Beijing’s Xidan in March 1999. As the first bar-style small hot pot restaurant in Beijing, the company has developed steadily during the last ten years. (Via ChinaRetailNews.com.)

U.S. eclipsed by China in 2009 auto sales: New car sales in the United States plunged more than 20 percent in 2009 to a 27-year low of 10.43 million units, less than the 12.23 million units sold in China during January-November, making the country the world’s largest car market for the first time, data released by a U.S. research firm showed Tuesday. The result marked a historic turning point in the world automobile industry, which had been led by the Big Three Detroit companies since Ford Motor Co. began mass production in 1913 introducing the world’s first belt conveyor system. (Via Kyodo News (Business).)

Singapore PM: No return to pre-crisis growth: Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the city-state requires a long time to achieve the pre-crisis growth levels of 7 to 10 per cent as the recent economic slowdown has adversely impacted almost all key economic parameters. PM Lee, addressing a bursary award ceremony at Townsville Primary School, said that economy has been, however, showing the signs of resilience as demand in all spheres is slowly picking up due to stimulus measures taken by the government. (Via TopNews Singapore.)

Tags: Airlines, Asia business, Asia news, automobile, Beijing, China, Ford, Singapore, Taiwan, Xiabu Xiabu
Mercedes-Benz: China sales to surpass UK, then US

China 22.12.2009 Comments Off

The S-Class has found its biggest fans in China, where 12,500 units of the model were sold in the first 11 months of this year, the most of any market in the world.

By Gong Zhengzheng (China Daily) – Due to robust sales in the world’s most populous country, Mercedes-Benz expects China to unseat the United Kingdom (UK) as the company’s third-largest passenger car market in the world in 2010.

Joachim Schmidt, executive vice-president of Mercedes-Benz Cars for sales and marketing, told China Daily last week that China would then soon supplant the United States for the No 2 spot.

“I personally believe that China will surpass the United States within two or three years,” Schmidt said.

China now is the luxury carmaker’s fourth-biggest market after Germany, the US and UK.

He said Mercedes-Benz expects to sell around 100,000 cars on the Chinese mainland next year.

Klaus Maier, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz China Ltd, said recently that the company’s mainland sales would reach 65,000 cars this year, up 65 percent from 2008.

Mercedes-Benz’s sales on the mainland surged 68 percent in the first 11 months to 59,200 units, including 12,500 units of the S-Class, 6,400 new-generation E-Class cars, 14,500 locally produced C-Class vehicles and 14,000 SUVs.

Strong S-Class sales have made China the world’s biggest market for the model.

In November alone, Mercedes-Benz’s mainland sales hit an all-time monthly record of 8,500 cars, rocketing 224 percent from a year ago.

“The luxury car market in China will continue dynamic growth for a few years thanks to the country’s steady economic growth,” Schmidt said.

He said Mercedes-Benz plans to launch 16 all-new car models in the next two years globally, most of which will be introduced into the Chinese market to meet growing demand. – read more at China Daily.com…

Tags: automobile, China, Mercedes-Benz
Daimler to triple Beijing JV capacity on sales boom

China 15.12.2009 Comments Off

The Mercedes-Benz GLK made its world debut in Beijing

By Li Fangfang (China Daily) – Daimler AG, parent of German luxury car brand Mercedes-Benz, said yesterday it was tripling the production capacity at its Beijing joint venture, amid skyrocketing local demand.

The capacity of Beijing Benz-DaimlerChrysler Automotive Co Ltd (BBDC), a joint venture between Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co Ltd, Daimler AG and Daimler North East Asia Ltd, would be raised to 75,000 to 100,000 units per year, depending on shift patterns. As part of this the company would convert the former Chrysler hall into Mercedes spaces for C- and E-Class expansion, said Ulrich Walker, chairman and CEO of Daimler Northeast Asia.

“BBDC is performing exceptionally well and will hike production of C-Class and the locally produced long-wheel base E-Class vehicles. Looking forward, in the mid-term, Daimler and its partners would produce as many vehicles as we import,” said Walker.

Sales of the locally produced C-Class have exceeded expectations, and clocked a year-on-year growth of 189 percent during the first 11 months. The company has delivered nearly 14,500 units of these vehicles to Chinese customers.

According to Walker, BBDC has increased the localization rate of Mercedes cars to 45 to 50 percent and identified 85 new China-based suppliers and worked with them to support the local production.
Walker estimated that Daimler will sell more than 70,000 cars, vans and trucks in China this year, more than a 50 percent increase over last year, strongly boosted by the record sales of Mercedes cars. He expects Mercedes sales to surpass 65,000 units for the whole year, representing a 65 percent growth rate. – read more at ChinaDaily.com…

Tags: automobile, Beijing, China, Daimer, Mercedes-Benz
GM teams up with Shanghai Automotive for $100m joint venture

Hong Kong 05.12.2009 2 Comments

Workers assembling vehicles at the SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co production line in Liuzhou, Guangxi. GM and SAIC together operate eight joint ventures in the country. (Agencies)

By Li Fangfang (China Daily) – General Motors Co on Friday said it has set up a $100 million joint venture in Hong Kong along with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp Group (SAIC) to focus on the Asian markets.

As part of this, the new venture would bring under its umbrella all the Indian operations of GM including the two vehicle manufacturing facilities, a power train unit and the nationwide distribution network.

GM would also produce and sell small cars and mini-commercial vehicles developed by Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co in India under the new joint venture.

“Over the past decade, SAIC and GM have created one of the world’s most successful automotive industry partnerships,” said Nick Reilly, executive vice-president and president of international operations, GM.
“Both companies felt this was the proper time to deepen cooperation beyond China’s borders in order to enhance partnership as part of long-term growth strategies,” he said.

“Changes in the worldwide economy have created new opportunities in emerging markets,” said Hu Maoyuan, chairman of SAIC.

“By leveraging our individual assets and those of our China joint ventures, SAIC and GM are in a strong position to introduce competitive products outside China that will satisfy the needs of consumers in India and other high-potential global markets,” he said. – read more at ChinaDaily.com…

Tags: automobile, China, GM, Hong Kong, SAIC, Shanghai
Beijing Automotive will ‘move fast’ on Saab bid, chief says

China 01.12.2009 1 Comment

General Motors is still seeking a buyer for Saab

(China Daily/Agencies) – Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co said it will “move fast” on General Motors Co’s Saab unit after its partner scrapped a bid for the Swedish automaker.

“Stay tuned,” Beijing Auto president Wang Dazong said yesterday in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, when asked whether the company would bid alone for Saab or as part of a group.

GM may shut Trollhaettan, Sweden-based Saab if the unit isn’t sold, a person familiar with the matter said last week after Koenigsegg Group AB walked away from a Beijing Auto-backed bid.

Wang declined to say whether a bid would be submitted before GM’s board discusses the unit’s future at a meeting today. “I can’t control GM’s timetable,” Wang said. “We want to move fast.”

Saab is attractive for its brand and its technology, Wang said, adding that a lack of “technology depth” is one of Beijing Auto’s weaknesses. In July, the Chinese carmaker’s bid for GM’s Opel unit failed because the companies couldn’t come to an agreement over intellectual property rights to car designs and technology, Beijing Auto said at that time. …read more at ChinaDaily.com…

Tags: automobile, BAIC, Beijing, China, Saab
Chinese carmaker Geely says Volvo to retain technology after purchase

China 27.11.2009 2 Comments

(China Daily/agencies) – Geely Holding Group Co, the Chinese carmaker in talks to buy Volvo Car Corp, said the Swedish company would retain ownership of technology following a sale by Ford Motor Co.

Geely, which is offering to buy 100 percent of Volvo, has financing in place for the deal, Yuan Xiaolin, a spokesman for the Chinese automaker, said on Friday in Beijing. Ford named Geely as preferred bidder for Volvo in October.

Intellectual-property protection remains a stumbling block in the takeover because Ford will continue supplying components following a sale. Similar patent concerns derailed Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co’s bid to buy General Motors Co’s Opel unit, the Chinese carmaker’s chairman said in July.

Geely is prepared to pay about $2 billion for Volvo, less than a third of what Ford paid a decade ago, people familiar with the talks have said. Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford plans to sell the unit to focus on its main Ford brand. – read more at ChinaDaily.com

Tags: automobile, China, Geely, Volvo
Toyota to replace 4.26 million gas pedals in U.S.

Japan 25.11.2009 Comments Off

Stuck: An accelerator in a Toyota car is seen stuck to a floor mat. NHTSA/KYODO PHOTO

(Compiled from AP, Kyodo) – WASHINGTON/NEW YORK — Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it will replace gas pedals on 4.26 million vehicles in the U.S. free of charge to address problems with sudden acceleration or the pedal becoming stuck in the floor mat.

As a temporary step, Toyota will have dealers shorten the length of the gas pedals beginning in January while the company develops replacement pedals for their vehicles, the Transportation Department said in a statement. New pedals will be available beginning in April, and some vehicles will have brake override systems installed as a precaution.

They said owners of the ES350, Camry and Avalon would be the first to receive notification because the vehicles are believed to have the highest risk for pedal entrapment.

Toyota plans to install a brake override system on the Camry, Avalon and Lexus ES350, IS350 and IS250 models as an “extra measure of confidence,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. The brake override system, commonly called a “smart brake,” will ensure the vehicle will stop even if both the brake and the accelerator pedals are applied simultaneously.

Dealers will be instructed on how to modify the pedals before the end of the year and will begin shortening the accelerators in 2010. New replacement pedals are expected to be available for some models beginning in April and will be provided even if the vehicles have already received a modified pedal under the recall. – read more at The Japan Times…

Tags: automobile, Japan, recall, Toyota
Big insurance hike for Beijing’s luxury cars

China 24.11.2009 Comments Off

A Ferrari is parked at Dongdaqiao, Chaoyang district. (China Daily)

By Wang Wen and Cui Xiaohuo (China Daily) – Beijing’s luxury car owners say exorbitant insurance fees that will come into effect from next year will not stop them driving their mega-million yuan sleek toys.

“Insurance fees will never stop me from driving,” said Xu Bo, a car dealer in his twenties, and who owns a 3 million yuan Ferrari 360, a 1.5 million yuan Porsche 911 and 1.6 million yuan Mercedes Benz in separate garages in Beijing.

Xu belongs to the “Supercar Club”, which consists of only a handful of millionaires, compared to nearly 5.7 million motorists in the capital. The cashed-up supercar drivers already pay up to 200,000 yuan each year to have their wheels insured, not to mention the maintenance costs.

The insurance fees are set to double under a new car insurance policy next January, which also stipulates that owners of cars with few crashes will enjoy up to a 40 percent discount on their insurance fees, while those with so-called “bad records” will pay up to three times more than the previous year.

“Unfortunately, supercars fall into that high-risk group along with some modified racing vehicles, because they are simply too costly to be insured,” said Li Feng, director of the commercial insurance department of the Beijing Insurance Association, who drafted the policy. “That’s why we call them ‘special-need vehicles’ under the new policy.”

Liu Dongqing, a veteran insurance broker, said insurers have a more vivid name for the group.

“They are called ‘the junk vehicles’ in our business. We just hate granting them insurance contracts,” he told METRO.

It costs buyers millions of yuan to own a Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini because of China’s high import taxes on luxury goods. But after calculating the insurance fees and compensation for fixing the expensive cars after even minor accidents, insurance firms often find their deals out of balance. – read more at ChinaDaily.com…

Tags: automobile, Beijing, China, insurance
Guangzhou Auto Show opens to media

China 23.11.2009 1 Comment

Well-known Chinese model Mo Wandan poses beside an Infiniti auto at the China (Guangzhou) International Automobile Exhibition on Nov 23, 2009. (Xinhua)

(chinadaily.com.cn) – The annual China (Guangzhou) International Automobile Exhibition (GIAE) opens to media and professionals today. About 70 manufacturers are showing over 700 vehicles, and more than 600 parts and accessory manufacturers are participating.

The theme of GIAE 2009 is “Technology, Trend, Lifstyle”. Visitors can find international automakers including Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen and General Motors, as well as Chinese manufactures MG, Chery, Lifan, Changfeng Motor and Dongfeng Motors.

Shu Qi, a Chinese celebrity, turned up for a Subaru new car release, and Infiniti has Mo Wandan, a well-known Chinese model, as its celebrity representative.

GIAE began in 2003 and is now one of the most comprehensive auto shows in China. It is organized by the Guangzhou city council and the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. – read more at ChinaDaily.com

Tags: automobile, BMW. GM, Chery, China, Guangzhou, Infiniti, Mercedes, Subaru, Volkswagen
Toyota to fix gas pedals in U.S. recall

Japan 15.11.2009 Comments Off

Toyota plant in Tahara, Japan (KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images)

NAGOYA (Kyodo) Toyota Motor Corp. will soon offer to fix the gas pedals of vehicles in the United States that are subject to a safety recall over a problem with sudden acceleration, sources said Saturday.

Toyota is believed to have already agreed to the planned voluntary repair of gas pedals possibly involving 4 million cars, the sources said.

The carmaker is now in the final stage of arranging the move with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, they said.

Repair costs are estimated at tens of billions of yen, but Toyota expects it will not affect its overall business performance because the company has set aside nearly ¥500 billion in case of such an event, a senior Toyota official said. – read more at The Japan Times…

Tags: automobile, Japan, recall, Toyota