China:

First China’s Veyron sold for $3,6 million

At a media conference on press day at the Beijing Motor Show Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen, President of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. , officially declared Bugatti’s entry into the Chines market. „We are delighted to be here“, said Dr. Paefgen. „It is a historic moment for the legendary Bugatti brand: it is the first time that Bugatti presents a car in mainland China.“

The Bugatti Veyron will be on of the highlights of the Beijing Motor Show. Bugatti’s has selected Bentley China, a subsidary of the Dah Chong Hong Holdings Ltd., as its General Distributor in mainland China. The DCH Group takes up Bugatti’s sales- and service responsibilities in Beijing, Shangai and Shenzhen.

The first customer already made an offer of 25 mil yuan ($3.6 mil) for the first Bugatti sold in China.

2006 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Picture Gallery

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Nissan Teana

Nissan revealed the new Teana premium sedan at the 2008 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition.

"When we introduced Teana in 2004, it sent a clear signal that Nissan was serious about growth in China," said Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO, Nissan Motor Company Ltd. "The all-new Teana again demonstrates our commitment to high quality and world-class products for the Chinese consumer," continued Ghosn.

Teana was designed under the concept of modern luxury and relaxation. Defined by a bodyline that is a graceful and sweeping arc, the new Teana embodies sophistication. Known as a pioneer of the "modern living" concept through its first generation, the Teana evolves the interior design to focus on relaxation for all passengers.

Teana is available with the combination of the highly regarded V6 engine (VQ25DE and VQ35DE versions) and XTRONIC CVT. This combination provides both high performance yet refined long distance cruising. For China, a four-cylinder in-line engine (MR20DE) is also available, designed to maximize fuel economy and performance.

2008 Volkswagen Bora

Volkswagen is presenting the New Bora in a dual world premiere at Auto China 2008 in Beijing. The New Bora is to be recommended especially for families as a practical, high-end, versatile and dynamic companion for every day of the year.

The new models should contribute to further solidifying Volkswagen’s successful position as market leader in China. In 2007 the Volkswagen brand sold more than 780,000 vehicles – a new record. At the same time, this sales record validates the Volkswagen strategy of systematically bringing German knowhow into harmony with Chinese culture.

At its market introduction, FAW Volkswagen will be offering the New Bora with two modern Euro-4 gasoline engines. Both engines are distinguished by very refined performance and low fuel consumption. The four cylinder engines can be paired with a six-speed automatic (Tiptronic) as an option.

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Ford Focus CCC racing car

The Changan Ford Racing Team is looking forward to the 2008 China Circuit Championship (CCC) series and the opportunity to build on the outstanding success of the Changan Ford Racing Focus race car in its 2007 season.

The Changan Ford Racing Focus delivered a strong performance throughout the 2007 season, winning the annual champion of CCC 2007 and the racer’s annual runner-up title. The excellence performance of Focus racing car is fully demonstrated to consumers through the competition which strongly promoted the sales of Focus.

The Focus race cars used by Changan Ford Racing boast reworked versions of the 2.0-litre Focus engine, delivering 270 horsepower and 215 Nm of torque. The Changan Ford Racing Focus race cars demonstrated superior performance in all conditions throughout the 2007 season.

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2008 Ford S-MAX Trend

Ford S-MAX owners appreciate the safety and convenience of three rows of seating for seven passengers. However, for some potential Ford S-MAX customers, seven seats is two too many.

Today, Ford releases details of the five-seat S-MAX Trend that joins the S-MAX model range for 2008. Ford will debut the new five-seat S-MAX Trend at Auto China 2008 in Beijing alongside the seven-seat S-MAX Flagship.

“The S-MAX is spacious, safe and convenient but not everyone needs seven seats. Introducing a five-seat variant to the S-MAX range makes perfect sense and illustrates Ford’s ability to provide Chinese customers with cars and features they want," said Nigel Harris, General Manager of Changan Ford Sales Company.

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2008 Citroën C-Elysee

Citroën unveiled a new model, the C-Elysée, in Beijing on 8 April 2008. Based on the Elysée, the newcomer benefits from numerous upgrades in terms of styling, quality and technology.

The C-Elysée strengthens the range of models produced in China by Dong Feng Peugeot Citroën Automobiles (DPCA), consisting of the C2, Fukang, Xsara Picasso and C-Triomphe. The range is rounded out by the C4 Coupé, C5 saloon and C6, imported from Europe.

The C-Elysée is immediately recognisable as a new-generation Citroën with its expressive, modern-looking front end.

At the reveal press conference, Yves Moulin, Managing Director of Dongfeng Citroën, said that 300 improvements had been made to the C-Elysée, all of which can be perceived by the customer. 

The new range features three trim levels and five versions, fitted with the 1.6i 16V engine. The C-Elysée will be launched following its public debut at the Beijing Motor Show on 24 April.

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Geely GT

Geely will unveil at the 10th edition of the Auto China car show, April 20 at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing, the Geely GT Concept, a future Chinese supercar.

The year 2008 holds great significance for Geely’s Internationalization, strategic transform and overall elevation of the competitiveness of Geely Brand. This Auto Show will be an ideal stage for Geely to demonstrate its brand image, promote communications, seek possible cooperation and boosting its strategic transforming efforts. With an exhibiting area of 1500 square meters and up to 23 models, 2008 Auto China will be witnessing the largest and most ever celebrated Geely’s presence in an auto show. Geely International welcomes visits from all its distributors and business partners all over the country.

The Geely GT Concept’s design is seriously inspired from models like Maybach Exelero and Maserati GranTurismo, but this is not a surprise. We will need to wait and see what is original in the concept.

Another move by Chinese car maker to enter U.S

BMW’s Chinese partner Brilliance, has signed an initial agreement with two U.S firms Rocket Capital and McCombs, to distribute their sedans in the U.S. The two billionaire firms will also help Brilliance in finding after-sales support.

This is not the first time a Chinese car maker has tried getting into the U.S. Previous attempts were futile as the low-cost copy cars failed in meeting safety and emission norms.

A lot of money will change hands in this deal- Brilliance will trade in 10 to 15% of its shares in exchange for $100 million from both clients.

Other Chinese manufacturers like Geely and Chery are also looking at overseas markets like U.S and Europe. Their profile will then read international as they try escaping fierce competition at home. Ambitions are high for these desirous brands- Brilliance plans to acquire 1 % of the European market by 2010. It is presently doing well at home and is well on its way in completing its second plant in China, which when commences production in 2010, will churn out 100,000 cars annually.

Pathetic brand image and poor quality are the two major issues that Chinese cars have to get rid of. The expectations and requirements of a developed nation is poles apart from a developing one. Safety and eco-friendliness are other prime areas which need attention as they are the basic and compulsory needs in order to qualify selling in global markets. Cater to all that and the market will determine the rest.

93 percent rise in sales for Bentley in 2007

China’s thirst for international cars doesn’t end with BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Luxury car-maker Bentley sold 338 cars in China and Hong Kong areas in 2007, finishing with a remarkable 93 percent rise in sales compared to the previous year.

258 Bentley cars were sold in mainland China alone, which has become Bentley’s fifth largest and fastest growing market in the world.

Bentley sold 4,196 units in the United States and 2,079 units in the United Kingdom respectively, which are Bentley’s leading markets. Overall, 10,014 cars were sold world wide in 2007, up by 7 percent, and sales in Asia rose by 18 percent when contrasted with previous year’s statistics.

BMW to expand production in China

Chinese love Beemers. They gobble up all the BMW’s produced in no time, leaving the manufacturer gasping for breath.

To feed the BMW-hungry market, the German manufacturer has planned to step on the gas and produce 45% more cars in the following months which is roughly about 44,000 extra cars a year. BMW’s sales and marketing chief Stefan Krause, said the company experienced a 37 percent rise in 2007 sales to more than 61,000 cars.

BMW is partnered by Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd to make 3 and 5 Series cars in the Chinese plant situated in Shenyang.

"It is our clear goal to strengthen our lead as the most successful premium provider in Asia," Krause said.

BMW aims to sell more than 2 million cars worldwide by 2020, and raise the operating margin to 8-10 percent by 2012 from 5.5 percent for the first nine months of 2007.