Short news automotive

May 8, 2014 Category Automotive Metals & Minerals, Short news automotive

Shanghai became the second city in the country after Beijing to introduce the China V emission standard for new vehicles starting from April 30. Beijing was the first to put the standard into effect in March 2013. Vehicles failing to meet the strict new standard cannot be sold and registered in Shanghai after May 1. Vehicles under the new emission standard will cut nitrogen oxide emissions by 25% to 43% compared to the previous standard. Shanghai will also ban about 120,000 yellow-label, or heavily polluting vehicles, on and within the Outer Ring Road starting from July 1.
China’s passenger car sales still managed to live up to expectations in March with an increase of 9% from a year earlier to 1.59 million units, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said. March saw relatively few new product launches. Sales volume in the first quarter went up 9.5% year-on-year to 4.6 million units. More than 70,000 vehicles were ordered in one day in Hangzhou after the local government announced car purchase restrictions on March 25. Panic buying will add at least 500,000 vehicle sales this year, according to the CPCA. In April, more than 300 new models were unveiled at the Beijing auto show.
Malaysia awarded a manufacturing license to a USD618 million venture that will assemble fuel-efficient SUVs for China’s Great Wall Motor Co. The license was the first issued under the country’s new auto policy unveiled in January. Privately-owned Go Automobile Manufacturing will invest USD618 million over the next four years to expand its factory in northern Kedah state. It will have a production capacity of 100,000 vehicles by 2018, with 60% of the output to be exported to Southeast Asian countries.
Hyundai Motor has begun building a new-energy vehicle research and development (R&D) center in Yantai, Shandong province. The center will develop the three core components of new energy vehicles – motors, batteries and electric controls – and carry out overall car design. With a planned total investment of USD290 million, the center plans an annual turnover of USD100 million. Hyundai will also build a fourth China plant in Chongqing with a designed capacity of 300,000 vehicles per year.
Lentuo International, a Beijing-based retailer of Volkswagen and Toyota cars, said it is in talks to buy dealers to expand its used-car business. The company, which has a venture with Osaka-based Itochu, is in discussions with three to four potential targets, said Founder and Chairman Guo Hetong. Used cars are typically in higher demand in smaller cities, where incomes are lower, while consumers in the larger cities prefer newer vehicles, he said. Demand for used vehicles in China is surging as its car market matures. Sales of pre-owned passenger vehicles are expected to climb six-fold to 36 million units by 2023.
Dongguan Robstep Robot displayed the newest models of its motorized scooters, a Chinese version of America’s Segway, at the Canton Trade Fair. Robstep uses technology imported from Taiwan. The business generated about CNY80 million in revenue last year.
Ford Motor Co unveiled its premium brand Lincoln for the first time in China at a media gathering in Beijing, marking the carmakers entry into the luxury market, which has grown enormously during the past few years. “But we still see significant growth left in the luxury market,” said John Lawler, Chairman and CEO of Ford Motor China. China’s luxury market accounts for 6% of the global market and this is expected to reach 9% in 2020, surpassing the U.S., with annual sales estimated to reach 2.7 million vehicles. Lincoln is starting in China with eight dealers in seven cities.
A record number of motorists bid in April’s auction for Shanghai license plates. Of the 9,000 car plates, 8,200 were offered to private buyers, up 800 from last month, but the number of bidders surged more than 50% from March to 94,241. The percentage of successful bids dropped to a record low of 8.7%. The surge in demand was driven partly by owners of out-of-town registered National IV emission standard cars, which will now not be able to obtain a Shanghai car plate as the National V emission standard came into force. The average price of a car plate rose marginally to CNY74,113.
In the first quarter of 2014, Mercedes-Benz sold 64,115 units, increasing its passenger car sales in China by 47% compared to the same period last year, a growth rate that ranks highest among German premium brands in China. The S-Class model has been particularly successful with a 26% increase in sales in the first quarter of 2014. The carmaker also launched the CLA sport sedan at the Beijing Auto Show. The C-Class Long Wheelbase also made its debut. With nearly a dozen new models to be introduced through 2015, a strong product offensive will continue to play a key role in Mercedes-Benz’ China strategy.
Tesla Motors hopes to launch a nationwide charging and service network for its electric vehicles by 2015, CEO Elon Musk said in Beijing. Tesla will build solar-powered charging stations in Beijing and Shanghai this year and will add more stations across the country in the coming years, Musk said during his first public appearance in China. “We will make a big investment in China to make sure every buyer has a great experience,” he said. The company’s S model, equipped with an 85-kilowatt-hour battery, will be priced at CNY734,000.
Despite the governments austerity drive, there is still room for the market of super luxury vehicles to grow. Currently, super sports cars occupied only about 0.1% of the passenger car segment, while the figure is 1% to 2% in Western countries.
More than half a year since it began accepting orders from China, American electric carmaker Tesla made its first deliveries, as nine buyers in Beijing and seven in Shanghai received the key to their Model S from Elon Musk, Founder and CEO of Tesla. But at the same time, 23 customers protested the lack of charging infrastructure outside Beijing and Shanghai. Musk said Tesla would invest heavily in developing its own supercharger network in the country that can run on solar power and is independent of the state grid. Tesla Spokesman Simon Sproule said the company would not ship to customers in other cities until June, owing to a lack of service centers and charging tools.
Bosch expects to continue its double-digit growth in China over the coming years. Last year, the German company posted 18% growth in China to pull in a combined revenue of CNY41.2 billion, making the country its second-largest overseas market. The sales figure includes up to CNY32 billion generated by its automotive business in the OEM supply and aftermarket, which grew 28% last year. The firm will open a new plant in Shanghai this year to localize the production of its latest turbocharging system co-developed with Mahle.
With a joint venture plant in Changshu, Jiangsu province, set to start operation in the fourth quarter of the year, Chery Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is aiming to become the “No 1 player” in China’s premium car market－in product quality and customer experience, Chris Bryant, President of the joint venture said. The JV will also have an R&D center focusing on powertrain systems.
The Chengdu Economic and Technological Development Zone (CEDZ) in Longquanyi district has become an important production base for FAW-Volkswagen, FAW Toyota, Volvo and Geely. The zone is home to 17 vehicle manufacturers and about 290 related companies that are producing catalytic converters, glass, electronic components and tires. Chengdu produced 723,000 vehicles in 2013, up 86.7% from a year earlier. The aim of the CEDZ is to manufacture 1 million vehicles annually by 2016 and 1.8 million by 2020.
China’s private carmaker BYD Co posted a slump in first-quarter net profit of nearly 90% to CNY12 million compared to a year earlier, while revenue amounted to CNY11.7 billion, a drop of 9% from a year earlier. BYD, listed in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, has struggled to develop its green cars. It received a government subsidy of CNY98.4 million in the first quarter but cash flow from operating activities was a negative CNY1.1 billion.
Vehicle leasing in China remains a largely untapped sector that lags far behind mature markets. Naeem Aftab, General Manager of NetSol Technologies, a company that provides asset finance and leasing software, said statistics from the China Leasing Union show leases of all kinds totaled CNY1.55 trillion in 2012, but only a meager CNY25.7 billion was in the auto industry. Wang Yong, General Manager of Tonbright Finance Leasing Co, said leasing accounted for 46% of total new car deliveries in the U.S. but less than 5% in China. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) estimates the market size could reach CNY525 billion by 2015.
In April BMW Brilliance Automotive announced the start of ZINORO 1E rentals. The car is the first electric vehicle made by a premium car manufacturer in China and the only premium new energy vehicle available for rent. The ZINORO brand was developed by BMW Brilliance to create cars tailored for the Chinese market. The cost of renting a ZINORO 1E is CNY400 a day or CNY7,400 a month for rentals of three years, with license plate registration, insurance and a package of services included. The first ZINORO showroom opened in February in Beijing’s Sanlitun SOHO.
Statistics from the China Association of Automobiles Manufacturers (CAAM) show that in 2013, China produced 14,243 electric cars and sold 14,604 units, which analysts said was mainly driven by the central government’s subsidy policy for new energy cars. China’s new energy car market is booming and saw an 87.5% surge in sales this year to 60,000 units, including hybrid cars, according to the Association.
BYD has rolled out the first two electric buses from its factory in California. The 12-meter long battery-powered vehicles were delivered to the Antelope Valley Transit Authority in Los Angeles County, where BYD has its U.S. headquarters in the city of Lancaster. “BYD is the harbinger of things to come,” said California Governor Jerry Brown, who toured the BYD factory. BYD Motors, which employs 60 people at its plant, expected its payroll to reach 100 by the end of this year and grow to 200 next year, Chief Executive Stella Li said.
Honda Motors plans to double the number of car models it sells in China to about 20 over the next two years to try to capture market share from rivals such as General Motors. Honda also plans to source more parts made in China to keep costs low. In comparison, General Motors sells 40 models in China, and last year sold more than four times the number of cars than Honda sold.
Sports carmaker WM Saleen, which was founded by former racing driver Steven Saleen, secured tens of orders during the recent Beijing Auto Show. The company only manufactures a limited number of cars. The Super S7’s buyers will be invited to Los Angeles for a super car training course on a real race track for one week. The Super S7 can accelerate from 0 to 100 km in 2.4 seconds, 0 to 200 km in 6.5 seconds and 0 to 300 km in 14.5 seconds. The car is tailor-made for each individual consumer, who has to wait 12 months for delivery.
German auto components and electrical equipment firm Bosch concluded its 2013 fiscal year with a record sales revenue of CNY41.2 billion in China, a significant growth of 18% from the previous year. Bosch’s automotive sector grew almost twice as fast as the market in China in 2013. Last year, Bosch opened a plant for automotive after-market products in Nanjing, a chassis plant in Chengdu and an automotive test and technology center in Donghai, Jiangsu province. This year, its joint venture Mahle Turbo Systems opened a plant in Shanghai to produce turbochargers for gasoline engines and a plant for diesel systems in Qingdao. Bosch currently has 17 technical centers in China.
Just two weeks after making its debut in China, the new Tesla Model S electric car is available to rent in Shanghai. Two top-end models, which have a local sales price of more than CNY1 million, can be hired at eHi Auto Services Co, which opened the country’s first electric car rental outlet in the city last year. There are just two cars for rent at present, but the company said it intends to increase its Tesla fleet later this month.

Short news automotive

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