Short news automotive
March 7, 2013 Category Automotive Metals & Minerals, Short news automotive
- China’s passenger vehicle sales in January surged 45.4% from a year earlier, the largest year-on-year growth since April 2010, but the comparison is distorted by the Chinese New Year falling in January last year and in February this year. A total of 1,704,185 cars, sport utility vehicles, multi-purpose vehicles and minivans were delivered in the nation in January, up 9.2% from the previous month, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said. “Such high growth was a result of five more working days in January and more than 10 days of a slack market in January last year due to an early Spring Festival,” said Rao Da, Secretary General of the Association.
- French carmaker Renault has started recalling 61,508 Koleos sport utility vehicles (SUVs) produced between December 16, 2008, and July 10, last year, and exported to China. The cars have faulty fuel level sensors that display incorrect fuel levels on their dashboards. Renault will change the sensors for free. Renault’s vehicle recall was announced on February 6, the second in two months. Renault had recalled 5,097 Koleos cars in January due to welding problems.
- In 2013, with 95 auto brands continuing to fight for their share of China’s market, vehicles sales in the country are expected to top 20 million for the first time. GM and its Chinese partners captured 14.3% of the market in the latest quarter, ahead of Volkswagen. 19.1 million passenger vehicles were sold in China in 2012, for the first time overtaking Europe in total vehicle sales. By 2020, the number is expected to rise to 33 million. The market could be as big as Europe and the U.S. combined, Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, head of vehicle research at the University of Duisburg-Essen, predicted.
- General Motors Co, which runs 12 joint ventures in China, said it has repurchased a 1% stake in its joint venture with Chinese partner SAIC Motor Corp, which it had sold before its 2009 bankruptcy filing. The move will bring GM’s ownership of Shanghai General Motors Co back to 50%. GM paid USD119 million for the 1% stake. In February 2010, GM sold the stake to SAIC for USD85 million.
- Nissan Motor Co expects its luxury Infiniti business to become profitable in three to four years as it begins production in China and introduces entry-level vehicles to attract customers. Infiniti, which last year relocated its headquarters to Hong Kong from Japan, plans to start building cars in China in the third quarter of 2014 and for global sales this year to rise at least 10% to about 200,000 units, President Johan de Nysschen told Bloomberg.
- Ferrari sold 784 of its sports cars in the Greater China region last year, 4% more than in the previous year, with almost 500 going to mainland consumers.
- BYD’s net profit plunged 94.2% to CNY81 million last year on poor sales of its handset components and solar cells, despite a rebound in sales of its cars. The operating loss was CNY319 million, against a profit of CNY1.41 billion the year before.
- BMW will recall over 2,100 sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) in China as part of a worldwide recall due to a brake vacuum pump leak, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) said. The recall affects BMW X5 vehicles equipped with the V8 engine from model years 2007-2010 and produced between May 9, 2006 and March 18, 2010, including 2,116 units imported into the Chinese mainland. The defect could result in failure in the power-assist braking system which may lead to a vehicle crash. The recall is due to start on March 18.
- China’s car industry more than tripled debt issuance this year as borrowing costs fell and a rebound in economic growth drove forecasts for 2013 vehicle sales above 20 million for the first time. Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group, Zhejiang Geely and Wanxiang Qianchao are among companies that have sold CNY8.2 billion of debt so far this year, compared with CNY2.5 billion a year earlier. LMC said it expected vehicles sales to gain 10%, IHS sees growth of 8.9% and a November report by McKinsey estimated an increase of 8%.
- In the eighth consecutive month of record highs, the average price for a Shanghai car plate shot up to CNY83,571 in February – CNY8,239 more than in January. The city made 9,000 car plates available, the same as in January and the lowest number since last April. The number of bidders rose 18% to 24,651, while the percentage of successful bids fell from 43.2% to 36.5%.
- General Motors Co and its China joint ventures sold 215,070 vehicles in the country in February, down 10.6% from a year earlier, and compared with a 26% year-on-year rise in January. Data for January and February have been skewed due to the timing of the week-long Spring Festival holiday which fell in January in 2012 but came in February this year.
- A growing number of independent repair shops are posing a challenge to the dominance of authorized dealerships. A recent survey by automotive news website Gasgoo found that just half of car owners now use dealer shops after auto warranties expire. The survey also found that only 15% of cars older than eight years are serviced at authorized outlets. More experienced customers often prefer independent repair shops, saying they offer equally good or even better parts and services than dealers at a much lower price.
- Once the premium car used by national leaders, the iconic Hongqi – or Red Flag – is planning a revival. Last month FAW Car Co held a low-profile ceremony at its headquarters in Changchun, Jilin province, to deliver 13 Hongqi H7 sedans to the provincial government. The listed passenger car unit of FAW Group said it has received a number of orders for the H7 from central ministries as well as more than 10 provincial and municipal governments. Its strategy is to first seize the market for the high-end government fleet before entering the private market. FAW plans to invest CNY10.5 billion from 2011 to 2015 to rejuvenate the once-legendary brand.
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