China

  • geely ge throne limo 004

    China's car industry is infamous for its tendency to 'borrow' details from European carmakers, often to the point where the word 'clone' is used with some accuracy. The latest car to catch legal heat for the practice: Geely's GE, a remarkably obvious take on the Rolls Royce Phantom. But Geely doesn't see the similarity that's got Rolls Royce considering legal action. Geely spokeswoman Zhang Xiaoshu told the AFP, "they are actually different.... people may feel they are the same at the first glance, but the details are certainly different." Playing fast and loose with concepts like 'different'...

  • 2010 Porsche Panamera in elevator in Shanghai World Financial Center
    Porsche Panamera squeezed into elevator for 94th story presentation

    In the lead up to the unveiling of its Panamera sedan at the Shanghai Motor Show this week, Porsche made a special presentation of the car to a select group of customers and dignitaries on the 94th floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center. Getting the car up to the special event platform, which...

  • 2009 Buick Business concept
    Buick reveals Business MPV concept in Shanghai

    We've seen some amazing concepts from Buick unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show in previous years, and this year was no different with the release of the Buick Business concept. Unlike the handsome Buick Riviera Concept we saw at Shanghai a couple of years ago that was built in collaboration with...

  • Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium
    2009 Race of Champions heading to Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium

    Undoubtedly one of the most unique motorsports events out there, the annual Race of Champions (ROC) event sees drivers from usually incompatible forms of motorsport take each other on in a single race format - last year we got to see rallying legend Sebastien Loeb beat out champion F1 drivers...

  • Changan Alsvin
    Changan Auto seeking American, European empires

    While the Detroit 3 and the rest of the established automotive industry reel from the blows dealt by the poor world credit market and nosediving economy, smaller, newer companies like Chongqing Changan Auto Company (Changan Auto) are ramping up their plans for world conquest. Taking advantage of...

  • porsche panamera shanghai debut pr photos 003
    Porsche Panamera makes world debut at Shanghai Auto Show

    Porsche today unveiled its new Panamera grand tourer at the Shanghai Auto Show, ahead of its official European sales launch scheduled for September. The car will arrive in U.S. showrooms just one month later, although only the V8 variants will be offer initially. These include the naturally...

  • China's already busy streets are soon to be even more crowded

    Despite the global economic downturn, the nation of China is still on track to become the world's largest automaker by this year. Currently, China remains in second place to Japan, but last year the Chinese managed to overtake the U.S. to claim their current second-place position, and this trend is expected to continue this year, with China holding the lead spot through at least 2013 based on current trends. Market research firms are predicting that China will manufacture around 8.7 million vehicles this year, over a million units more than Japan is expected to produce. Most of these cars...

  • geely ge throne limo 005
    Geely goes for the gusto with throne-equipped GE limo

    Building a successful hyper-luxury limousine is a tricky game. While brands like Maybach and Bentley are struggling to find success, Rolls Royce is posting year after banner year of sales improvements. Now a newcomer has entered the game, and the result is catastrophically interesting. Built by...

  • Chery's Riich G6
    Chery gets literal, launches two new sub-brands in China: Riich and Rely

    The American car industry as a whole may be under fire for its current situation, but there's always a bright side. Like Arkansans are fond of saying, "thank God for Mississippi" when it comes to state-by-state rankings, Detroit no doubt finds similar relief in the misadventures of Chinese...

  • 2009 Volvo XC70
    Report: Chinese government gives Chery Auto approval for Volvo acquisition

    Ford is having trouble offloading its failing Volvo subsidiary but the company is determined to sell it and has already started approaching potential buyers in spite of the tough economic conditions. The Blue Oval has been in talks with a number of potential suitors in the recent past, and the...

  • 2010 Mercedes Benz E-Class Coupe
    Daimler wants focus on vehicle interiors, creates new ‘center of excellence’

    There’s no award for recognizing that the current quality and design of vehicle interiors for luxury brands like Mercedes Benz and BMW, traditional stalwarts of the industry, aren’t up to the reputation that their names once commanded. It’s not so much that the quality has...

  • Street-level smog in Beijing
    China's carbon emissions jump 80% in just three years

    Beijing's efforts to cut its local pollution for the Olympics aside, China has shown little interest in cutting back its output of carbon into the atmosphere. Even with Beijing's drastic measures, athletes and press complained of the oppressive atmosphere. Now it looks like China's atmosphere may...

  • Chrysler Auburn Hills headquarters

    There is mounting speculation that ailing Detroit carmaker Chrysler may not be able to survive as a standalone firm. Negotiators in Detroit are working furiously to secure a deal with Italy’s Fiat Group but if the proposed alliance falls through Chrysler has a number of options as backup. One of these includes a sale of assets to a foreign firm. Latest reports indicate that China’s Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp is interested in some of Chrysler’s assets but the company has refused to comment on the speculation. State-run newspaper China Business News, citing an...

  • Chery's Easter Cross wagon
    Report: Chery considering bid for Volvo

    America's car-market troubles are well-known and much belabored of late, but China's automotive industry isn't facing such a dire situation. In January, China's total car sales overtook America's for the first time, and many of the constituent companies, such as Chery, are looking outside China to...

  • byd f3dm 003
    China outpaces U.S. in January cars sales

    The phenomenally weak market in the U.S. is setting record lows on a regular basis, and today is no exception: China has surpassed the U.S. in total car sales for the month of January. Conservative estimates for 2009 have the U.S. market selling 10.5 million or more vehicles, but so far this year...

  • BYD F3DM plug-in hybrid
    BYD confirms 2011 U.S. launch for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles

    Chinese manufacturer BYD is planning to have vehicles on sale in the U.S. within two years, with similar ambitions for the European market. The company took a step closer to reaching those goals by launching the world’s first mass-produced plug-in hybrid vehicle in China last month, and at...

  • BYD F3DM plug-in hybrid vehicle
    BYD to present world’s first mass-produced plug-in hybrid vehicle in Detroit

    Chinese manufacturer BYD is planning to have plug-in hybrid vehicles on sale in the U.S. within two years, with similar ambitions for the European market. The company took a step closer to reaching those goals by launching the world’s first mass-produced plug-in hybrid vehicle in China last...

  • Shuanghuan's Bubble at the 2007 Bologna Motor Show
    Daimler on verge of settling Smart ForTwo clone car suit in Europe

    For more than a year now, Mercedes' parent company Daimler has pursued a copyright infringement case against Chinese carmaker Shuanghuan for its Bubble, a blatant knock-off of the Smart ForTwo minicar. A recent holding in a Milanese court has put the German company on the back foot, however, and...

  • China's BYD to sell plug-in hybrid in U.S. by 2010

    Chinese carmaker BYD has pushed back the expected release date for its plug-in hybrid vehicles destined for non-Chinese markets. The company’s chairman, Wang Chuanfu, stated that the original target of 2010 was being pushed back by a full year to 2011. The new date puts the release for the BYD plug-in hybrid, called the F3DM, in a similar timeframe to GM’s Chevrolet Volt, which is expected to make its debut only in late 2010. Chuanfu did not give an explicit reason why the delay had come about, although sales of the Chinese-market F3DM have already begun. Part of the non-Chinese...

  • Engine parts
    WTO denies China's appeal on car part tariffs ruling

    The World Trade Organization (WTO) has confirmed a ruling against China’s import tariffs on car parts in response to complaints from the U.S., Europe and Canada. By denying China's appeal to the decision handed down in July, the WTO puts a deadline on China's compliance with the measure...

  • China's BYD to sell plug-in hybrid in U.S. by 2010
    China’s BYD first to market with mass-produced plug-in hybrid

    Chinese manufacturer BYD is planning to have plug-in hybrid vehicles on sale in the U.S. within two years, with similar ambitions for the European market. The company took a step closer to reaching those goals by launching the world’s first mass-produced plug-in hybrid vehicle in China this...

  • Volvo grille
    Ford refuses to comment on talks with Chinese firms over Volvo sale

    Earlier this week reports emerged that Ford was in talks with Chinese carmakers Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) and Changan Auto over a potential sale of Volvo. The Blue Oval has now confirmed that the struggling Swedish carmaker is up for sale but refused to comment on whether...

  • 2006 Dodge Hornet Concept
    Chrysler and Chery ‘mutually agree’ to end alliance

    The deal between Chrysler and Chery to build small cars for the North American market has been anything but smooth sailing, with numerous delays and obstacles causing both companies to have almost walked away from the deal previously. Now, Chrysler has formerly announced that both it and Chery have...

  • Volvo grille
    Volvo lays off 2,700 workers, in sale talks with China's SAIC

    Labor negotiations between Volvo and Sweden's auto worker union have come to a close today, resulting in the termination of 2,721 emloyees, the vast majority of which are blue collar workers. The layoffs come as Ford has engaged Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) in talks to buy the...

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