Nissan and Dongfeng Motor Group have announced that they will be launching a Chinese-market only sub brand. The new brand will be called Qichen, which supposedly means Venus in English. Their logo is made up of five stars that is supposed symbolize five promises the company wants to make to potential customers, which is “respect for customers, create value, do the best, achieve world-class quality, and seek the dream.” The new brand will aim to provide affordable, no-frills cars in China’s auto market, currently the biggest in the world.

Kimiyasu Nakamura president of the joint venture said that there are a growing number of consumers making around 50,000 yuan (US$7000) a year, who are buying cheap cars. “We have been focusing lately on China’s interior market. Those consumers are multiplying in China’s inland markets, and we would like to come up with cars that target those people.”

Their plan to make cars affordable will include using Nissan’s existing platform and the development of the first model in China, taking advantage of the cheap labour costs for engineers. They also plan to limit the help they get from Japan for R&D.

He also went on to say that the Dongfeng-Nissan venture should drive sales up to one million cars a year in China, but did not specify a specific time frame. The JV company is on target of reaching its targeted 600,000 vehicles this year, while selling almost 519,000 cars in China last year.

This is not the first time a Chinese and foreign car manufacturer is launching a Chinese brand together – we also have Honda and Guangqi’s Li Nian.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 09:55:19 +0000.

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Dongfeng has commissioned Detroit Electric to jointly research, develop, market and sell Electric Vehicles in China using Detroit Electric’s electric drive systems.

The Chinese company will provide the cars, and Detroit Electric will provide the propulsion, similiar to the arrangement that DE has with Proton. But the DE-Proton deal involves rebadging the Persona and GEN2 under the Detroit Electric brand, but for Dongfeng, the two companies will study and explore the market entry strategy under the Dongfeng and Detroit Electric brand.

The two companies are also discussing the possibility of forming a joint venture company to manufacture, assemble, produce and supply the electric drive technology in China to the Dongfeng Group and other vehicle manufacturers that want to buy the technology.

Dongfeng does Kia, Nissan, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Honda in China, but they have been recently focusing on developing their own brand too. They recently launched a sedan based on the old Citroen ZX chassis called the Dongfeng Aeolus Fengshen, shown above.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 09:55:19 +0000.

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Dongfeng does Kia, Nissan, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Honda in China, but they have been recently focusing on developing their own brand as well. This is the Dongfeng Aeolus Fengshen sedan, and if you’re wondering if it’s basically an old recycled PSA or Honda chassis with a new skin, you’re right. Underneath all the metal is the old Citroen ZX, with power coming from a 105 horsepower 16 valve 1.6 litre PSA engine. The Fengshen is 4,502mm long, 1,740mm wide and 1,465mm tall with a 2,610mm wheelbase. The Fengshen will debut at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show this April.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 09:55:19 +0000.

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