Posts Tagged ‘china car’
Share slips as Audi, BMW come on strong.
by Joseph Szczesny on Apr.10, 2013
The Mercedes CLA Concept debuting in Beijing last year. The production version could be critical for the maker's revival in the Chinese market.
Mercedes-Benz continues to lose ground in China’s booming premium car market to arch-rivals BMW and Audi — but Daimler AG’s top executive, Dieter Zetsche, told the company’s shareholders meeting the automaker is confident it can make up the ground it has lost in recent months.
Mercedes’ slide has been both acute and unexpected and the maker has struggled even after slashing prices on key models such as the flagship S-Class sedan. That’s particularly worrisome since many analysts expect China will soon become the world’s largest market for luxury vehicles, surging past the U.S.
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Zetsche admitted to shareholders that Daimler management is keenly aware it has failed to keep pace with the growth in China. “Our sales had increased rapidly for five years in a row. During that period we posted the strongest average growth of all the premium brands there. Last year, our business expanded only slightly and we lost market share. We have to change this situation and we will.”
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Tags: audi china, auto news, bmw china, car news, china car, china luxury cars, daimler china, dieter zetsche, joe szczesny, mercedes china, mercedes china sales, mercedes news, mercedes-benz china, thedetroitbureau
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But Zhi Nuo brand might eventually go global.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.08, 2013
According to some reports, BMW may use the X1 as its first product for the new Zhi Nuo brand.
BMW is the latest global automaker to announce plans to create a special sub-brand for the Chinese market – but the German luxury giant is also eyeing its start-up as a possible source of exports.
We should hear more about the new Zhi Nuo brand at the Shanghai Auto Show later this month. BMW and its Chinese partner Brilliance Automotive are expected to introduced their first new model there, a version of the old 3-Series.
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Since the Chinese automotive market began opening up a dozen years ago, it has been flooded by a Who’s-Who of foreign manufacturers. In turn, domestic makers have struggled to hang on, most of the successful ones by entering into joint ventures required by law of global manufacturers. But under pressure from the government, these JV operations have begun creating special local brands of their own.
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Tags: auto news, bmw brilliance, bmw china, bmw export china, bmw news, bmw x1, bmw zhi nuo, car news, china auto, china auto exports, china car, ian robertson, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, zhi nuo
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Chinese airline to start in-flight car sales.
by Joseph Szczesny on Mar.12, 2013
VW and GM remain locked in a battle for dominance in the booming Chinese market.
Surging global stock markets slipped back this week as China released surprisingly weak economic data – but one sector of the vast Asian nation’s economy remains strong, Chinese car sales surging 40% for the first two months of 2013 after an unexpectedly weak performance last year.
For some carmakers, Chinese demand appears to be surging as they bring on new products, while for others, it is taking new discounts to help bolster sales.
But industry analysts continue to worry about what may happen as government regulators come under increasing pressure from both the public and a new cadre of Communist Party leaders to tighten environmental regulations in the wake of record pollution levels in the capital Beijing and other parts of the country. As TheDetroitBureau.com recently reported, stricter automotive emission rules – possibly including a press for more battery cars – are being actively considered.
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The 40% year-to-date increase in overall Chinese car sales comes despite a drop in February as the Chinese celebrated the Lunar New Year, a week-long holiday during which little or no business is transacted across China.
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Tags: auto news, car news, china auto, china auto sales, china battery cars, china car, china car sales, china electric vehicles, china pollution, chinese auto sales, chinese car sales, gm china, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, toyota china, vw china
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Reining in sales in the name of clean air.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Mar.01, 2013
Ford CEO Alan Mulally during a recent trip to China. Ford's sales are booming but could slip if regulators curtail the Chinese market.
After a few stutters last year, China’s massive automotive market seemed to get back on track in January, sales surging 46% compared to year-earlier levels. Yet there’s growing concern that the good times won’t continue for long.
There are a number of reasons to be worried, including a still frail global economy, nagging regional issues that include an ongoing territorial dispute with Japan and declining foreign investment. Yet the biggest concern, it seems, may be China’s endemic and worsening problems with air pollution.
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That has already led Chinese regulators to call for a rapid switch to battery-powered vehicles. But with market demand lagging Beijing’s call, a growing number of observers fear the central government may soon put in place steps to curb automotive ownership.
A growing number of major cities, including capital Beijing and economic center Shanghai, have already put restrictions in place, such as monthly limits on new vehicle registrations – though such measures have generally been aimed at curbing traffic problems, rather than emissions issues.
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Tags: auto news, car news, china air pollution, china auto exports, china auto sales cuts, china battery cars, china car, china car sales, china cars air pollution, china evs, china pollution, chinese car sales, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, qoros, thedetroitbureau, warren buffett
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Maker still has a month to go before closing books on 2012.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Dec.06, 2012
A Cadillac XLR at its Beijing debut earlier this year.
The once-explosive pace of growth in the Chinese car market has slowed down sharply this year – which means that General Motors had to wait until November to set a new sales record.
With a month left to run up the final total, GM and its various affiliates have sold 2,593,642 cars, trucks and crossovers in China, compared with 2,547,171 for all of last year. The good news for GM – and its competitors – was that November saw a renewed surge in a market that has, over the past decade, seen sales nearly double in some years.
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GM isn’t alone, however, Ford was one of a number of other makers that also reported hitting all-time sales records by the end of November and still more are expected to get there by the time December’s numbers are tallied. On the other hand, key Japanese makers could miss their once-lofty sales goals as a result of ongoing political turmoil.
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Tags: auto news, car news, china car, chinese car sales, gm china, gm china record sales, gm china sales, gm news, nissan china, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, toyota china, vw china
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U.S. likely to outpace China for 2012.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Sep.11, 2012
The Geely Gleagle at the recent Beijing Motor Show.
It’s been the engine that helped prop up many an automaker through the industry’s recent hard times, continuing to help European manufacturers overcome their problems at home. But there are growing signs that China’s once booming auto industry is fast losing momentum – like much of the rest of that nation’s economy.
China remains the world’s largest automotive market but data released today by the China Association of Auto Manufacturers suggests it won’t even keep pace with the U.S. market this year. After an unexpected dip during the first quarter and a tepid recovery during the late spring and early summer, August automotive sales rose a meager 3.7%.
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That’s well below what most analysts had been forecasting – and the equivalent of a major downturn considering that for much of the past decade China’s car market grew at well into a double-digit pace, some years topping 70%.
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Tags: Alan Mulally, auto china, auto news, beijing motor show, car news, china autos, china car, china car sales, chinese car sales, ford china, gm china, kevin wale, mulally china, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
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Maker putting the emphasis back on North America.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on May.15, 2012
Subaru will downplay China and focus on North America, possibly expanding the Indiana plant building vehicles like the Legacy.
Even as – and perhaps because – much of the rest of the auto industry rapidly ramps up production in China Subaru has decided to scale back its ambitions for the booming Asian market.
With the automotive subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries now delaying plans for a Chinese plant it will scale up its presence in the key North American market, reports Automotive News, possibly even with a second assembly plant.
“We will prioritize expanding production in America while we watch the situation in China and consider what to do there when there are some developments,” Fuji President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga told the trade publication.
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Subaru is a relative latecomer to the Chinese market, something that might not have been a problem until recently. But that country’s automotive market has entered into an unexpected slowdown worsened by an overall cooling of the Chinese economy. Meanwhile, major automakers, such as General Motors, Volkswagen and Nissan, are already battling it out in China raising concerns about the chances of a newcomer like Subaru.
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Tags: auto news, car news, china car, chinese auto production, fuji heavy industry, fuji yoshinaga, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, subaru china, subaru fuji, subaru indiana plant, subaru north america, subaru us, thedetroitbureau
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Will invest $760 mil in new factory.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.19, 2012
Ford showed the Start Concept at Beijing, last year.
Hoping to catch up after a late start in what is now the world’s largest automotive market, Ford Motor Co. plans to invest $760 million to build a new assembly plant in China.
The new facility will boost the maker’s total capacity in China to 1.2 million vehicles a year and bring its total investment in the world’s most populous nation to $4.9 billion. Even so, it will leave Ford significantly short if its eventual goal is to catch up to Detroit rival General Motors – which last year set an all-time sales record of 2.5 million vehicles in China.
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“So far, Ford’s investments in China and across Asia represent its largest and most rapid global expansion in fifty years,” said Joe Hinrichs, the maker’s president of Asia, Pacific and African operations.
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Tags: auto news, autos china, car news, china car, ford china, ford china cars, ford china expansion, ford china plant, ford news, gm china, joe hinrichs, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
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Canada to get Honda Fit, but nothing planned for U.S. – yet.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Dec.22, 2011
The Honda Fit delivers the best value of any model on the market, declares Consumer Reports.
With the domestic market starting to show signs of a slowdown perhaps it should come as no surprise that China’s automakers are ramping up plans to export product to other parts of Asia, Europe and now, even North America.
Honda will soon begin shipping the subcompact Fit from its plant in southern China to Canada – though there are currently no plans to bring any of those products into the U.S. That’s not necessarily surprising as that could generate a harsh response considering China this month said it plans to enact stiff no tariffs on American-made automobiles.
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Honda isn’t alone. Mercedes-Benz and BMW have also announced plans to export product from China. And some of that country’s local makers are openly laying out plans for a global assault – including the battery car maker BYD, which recently opened up an office in Los Angeles.
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Tags: auto news, bmw china, bmw news, car news, china auto, china auto exports, china car, chinese auto exports, honda fit canada, honda fit china, honda news, mercedes china, mercedes-benz news, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
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But there are signs pace of growth in world’s largest car market is slowing.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Jul.05, 2011
The Chevrolet Captiva is one of GM's newest offerings in the Chinese market.
General Motors set another record in the booming Chinese market, selling 1.27 million vehicles there during the first half of 2011.
That’s good news for the Detroit maker, which last year became the first to sell more than 2 million vehicles in China during a single year. But GM’s 5.3% sales increase for the first half of 2011 marks a significant slowdown from much of the past decade, when annual sales jumps regularly measured well into the double-digits.
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Analysts warn of new restrictions on vehicle ownership in traffic-snarled cities like Beijing, as well as the Chinese government’s decision to end subsidies for minivans – and increasing fuel prices.
On the positive side, the boom in automotive demand that has largely been limited to the Pacific Coast of China is now beginning to spread into the nation’s less economically advanced interior.
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Tags: auto news, autos china, buick china, car news, china car, chinese car sales, general motors china, gm china, gm news, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
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