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HUMMER sale to China’s Tengzhong fails, winding down process starts

February 25, 2010 at 11:35 am By Danny Tan Filed Under China, General Motors

General Motors has announced that China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines was unable to complete the acquisition of its Hummer brand. As a result of the failed sale, GM will begin to wind-down Hummer operations.

“One year ago, General Motors announced that we were going to divest Hummer, as part of focusing our efforts on Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac going forward. We have since considered a number of possibilities for Hummer along the way, and we are disappointed that the deal with Tengzhong could not be completed,” said John Smith GM vice president of corporate planning and alliances. “GM will now work closely with Hummer employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner.”

As with the winding down of Pontiac and Saturn brands before this, GM has promised to honour Hummer warranties, provide service support and spare parts to Hummer owners around the world.

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BYD coming to Malaysia under Berjaya Corp?

February 5, 2010 at 2:21 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under BYD, Cars, China, Local News

If you don’t know the name BYD, perhaps you might have seen some of their cars on this blog or car magazines. I was shocked speechless at the Shanghai Motor Show to see a Mercedes CLK front merged with a Renault Megane CC rear! Or how about the famous Altis front-City rear F3 sedan, or even the cloned Toyota Aygo?

Well, there’s a possibility of these cars coming to our shores as BYD Auto (Build Your Dreams) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Berjaya Corp Bhd to explore the possibility of building the F0 1.0-litre small car for ASEAN. F0 is the Aygo lookalike currently retailing for US$5,000 to US$7,000 in China.

The terms of the agreement includes a feasibility study on the conversion of the left-hand drive F0 to a right-hand drive version together with related research and development as well as having Berjaya as the distributor of the vehicle. Both parties would also cooperate in setting up a manufacturing plant near Rawang where Berjaya has set aside a 100-acre site.

But first, Berjaya needs a new manufacturing license as under the current National Automotive Policy, the Government has frozen licenses for the manufacture of petroleum-based vehicles under 1.8 litres. Berjaya executive director Datuk Francis Lee said there was “a strong case” for the Government to approve the manufacturing license as the deal would be the first step towards making Malaysia the regional hub for BYD’s right hand drive cars.

Shenzhen-based BYD is an auto and battery manufacturer that’s relatively advanced in the development of hybrid and electric vehicles. It was the fourth-largest automaker by sales volume in China last year with more than 450,000 units sold, and targets to touch 800,000 units this year. Berjaya’s Lee added the future plant would be initially for petroleum-based vehicles but would be expanded to include BYD’s new-energy vehicles at a later stage.

Source

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Live photos from Peugeot 408 launch in Beijing

January 27, 2010 at 12:37 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, China, International News

We now have some real life photos of the new Peugeot 408 live from the car’s unveiling in Beijing. After all, professionally shot product images may sometimes be different from how the car looks in real life, so these live photos give us a better idea of how the car looks like and zooms into the small details as well.

The notchback styling of this ’308 Sedan’ is definitely executive much better than the 206 Sedan or 207 Sedan. Because of the extended 2,710mm wheelbase, the roofline can be made curvier and more natural while still giving the car sufficient rear headroom.

The rear three quarter view reminds me a little of the pretty neat looking Peugeot 406 Coupe, which was referred to by PSA design director Jean-Pierre Ploué not too long ago as one of the last really good looking Peugeots – which will hopefully change with the new design language on the SR1.

Anyway, we also have a live video recording of the reveal for you to enjoy. Please head on to gallery and video after the jump!
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Peugeot 408 launched in China: 308-based sedan!

January 26, 2010 at 6:42 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, China, International News, Peugeot

The Peugeot 408 notchback sedan made its world debut in China this week. No, it’s not a replacement for 407. The replacement for the 407 will move up a notch in the market since it intends to replace both the 407 and the 607. It will be called the Peugeot 508.

The new Peugeot 408 is actually a C-segment notchback sedan based on the C-segment Peugeot 308 platform, but with its wheelbase lengthened to give better interior room since it is a 4-door. Suspension settings have also been revised for the car’s new sedan weight and for a more comfort-biased setup. In China, its positioned against other C-segment sedans like the Civic and the Focus. And this time Peugeot seems to have gotten the ‘hatch to sedan’ conversion right – it looks a lot less awkward than the 206 Sedan.

The 408 measures 4,680mm long, 1,800mm long and 1,500mm wide. It has a wheelbase of 2,710mm which trumps the Civic’s throne as the longest wheelbase C-segment vehicle available right now (well not exactly – the Fluence wheelbase is said to be 2,702mm). It approaches CD-segment territory with that wheelbase length (the Pug 407′s wheelbase is 2,725mm)! This should mean pretty good interior room in theory.

The Chinese launch of the car introduces a two engine line-up – a 110hp 1.6 litre engine and a 147hp 2.0 litre engine. Different markets may get different engines. The 1.6 litre engine’s 110 horses is reached at 5,750rpm while peak torque of 147Nm is reached at 4,000rpm with 85% reached from just 2,000rpm. and 95% (140Nm) between 3,000rpm and 5,500rpm. That’s a good and wide torque spread. The 2.0 litre unit is equipped with continuously variable valve timing. It produces its peak power at 6,000rpm with peak torque of 200Nm reached at 4,000rpm.

The transmission options are either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic, which is the new AT8 Porsche Tiptronic system model. Not the same one as found in the 206 or the 308, which is the AL4. The AT8 uses a torque converter by ZF which improves gearbox output and reduces consumption by about 5%. The gearbox management can also lock the three higher gears to reduce torque converter slip during gentle driving. From my sources, these are not the only engine options available for the 408 so if it comes to Malaysia at all, there is still a question mark there. It would be nice if the same Prince engines in the 308 are offered.

Speaking of Malaysia – guess what, it’s under consideration to be launched in Malaysia as part of Peugeot’s plans for the ASEAN region that were revealed in a press conference this afternoon. It won’t necessarily carry the 408 nameplate though – that’s a marketing decision yet to be made. For now we can refer to it as the T73 sedan. Watch out for an update on that later this night.
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Italdesign-Giugiaro to develop 8 models for HK Motors

January 25, 2010 at 7:35 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, China, International News

It looks like Italdesign-Giugiaro has loads more under its sleeves other than work for the new Proton Persona which is set to hit the streets in 20 months from now. They have just scored a huge contract from Chinese-backed US-based Hybrid Kinetic Motors Corp. The car above was unveiled at the announcement of the deal – but it isn’t even a model designed for HK Motors. It’s a recycled concept shown at 2008 by Italdesign called the Giugiaro Quaranta Concept.

Hybrid Kinetic Motors Corp has engaged Italdesign for the development of 8 new models based on a common flexible platform and powertrain, all to be engineered by Italdesign. The deal is worth 375 million Euros and will keep GIugiaro occupied over the next 4 years, and they will also provide on-site assistance for production, which means there will be income for the next 6 to 8 years!

Many probably think Italdesign is a design firm, but truth it they are capable of engineering work as well and have actually often been contracted by the mainstream automakers to assist with vehicle engineering. It’s just that launching a product with ‘design by Giugiaro’ is seen as a good thing but ‘engineered by Giugiaro’ usually makes people wonder why a car company can’t manage its own product engineering.

But among the models that Giugiaro has engineered are the new R56 MINI range including the Cooper, Clubman and Cabriolet. These are only the vary few models that the automakers have allowed Giugiaro to take credit for – the rest are buried with NDAs and confidentiality agreements.

“HK Motors is offering us the unique opportunity to design an entire range of products that should be state-of-the-art in terms of aerodynamic efficiency and weight because reducing emissions is the main target of the entire project,” says Italdesign vice chairman and design director Fabrizio Giugiaro. The company is said to be aiming for CO2 emissions of under 50g/km and its vehicles will use a common powertrain that uses a small turbocharged engine.

Their main sales market seems to be USA at the moment, and HK Motors has expressed that it plans to build a plant in South Alabama and make up to 1 million cars a year there.
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Detroit 2010: BYD e6 showcased at Electric Avenue

January 12, 2010 at 10:59 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under 2010 Detroit Auto Show, BYD, Cars, China, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel

Now here’s something quite worth looking at from BYD. This large hatchback is the BYD e6, and with a wheelbase of 2,830mm, its placed smack in the middle of the D-segment, making it about the same size as an Asian market Honda Odyssey. That should mean lots of space inside and a decent boot (not much of a rear overhang there), considering it is a 5 seater. I believe you can compare this to a Toyota Venza.

The e6 is an electric car, but what’s particularly amazing about it is that BYD claims a range of 330km (based on the spec sheet given at the NAIAS, there were also reports of 400km before this) before you have to get the e6 to a charger! That should solve any issues people have with electric car range.

Sure, it might still not be able to do cross-state journeys with completely no worries but the range is surely enough for regular daily commutes without even needed to recharge everyday. BYD themselves are a battery manufacturer so this must have helped them with the know-how of how to make an EV that’s ready for day-to-day needs.

The BYD e6 uses two electric motors. In this particular model, there is only a front motor and the front motor has a power and torque output of 101hp and 450Nm. Apparently there is also a version with a rear motor for all-wheel drive. The rear motor adds another 54hp to the total output. A higher-grade option has also been mentioned, upgrading the front motor to 215hp either in front-only or front+back (215+54) configuration.

Look after the jump for a live gallery from Detroit.
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Export plans confirmed for China-designed Chevrolet Sail compact sedan

January 12, 2010 at 12:10 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Chevrolet, China

Not too long ago, we reported on a new compact Chevrolet sedan called Sail; it has just been officially introduced in China by Shanghai GM. The Sail differs from previous Chevys sold in China (and the Aveo Sedan/Lova) in that it’s the first passenger car created in China from scratch by a Sino-foreign joint venture. The Sail was developed by Shanghai GM and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC), both GM-SAIC joint ventures. GM also announced that the Sail will be exported to other emerging markets.

Five variants are available, with the base model priced around RMB 60,000 (US$8,800). This marks a breakthrough in the under-RMB 70,000 (US$10,300) small car segment, where Chinese brands have traditionally been dominant. Dual air bags, a retractable steering column and ABS with EBD are standard. The higher spec models come with a sunroof and power retractable side mirrors.

For more technical info, click here to read our previous post. Official images after the jump.

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Detroit 2010: BYD shows cutaway F3DM plug-in

January 12, 2010 at 4:13 am By Paul Tan Filed Under 2010 Detroit Auto Show, BYD, Cars, China

Somehow it feels like there’s just no American motorshow that passes without BYD showcasing their F3DM plug-in electric hybrid car. The F3 itself we’ve seen many times, appearing first on this blog back in 2005. At that point the F3′s unique selling point was of course the ability for its owner to have either a copy of a Toyota Corolla or a Honda City, depending on what angle you’re looking at the car.

Now, the F3DM variant of the F3 has a plug-in hybrid powertrain! Range per charge for the batteries alone are expected to clock in at 100km. The gasoline engine component is a 1.0 litre unit and when combined with the electric motor, total output is rated at 168 horses and 400Nm of torque.

Anyway this time, BYD’s booth is located right at the corner of the two ‘lanes’ that make up the Electric Avenue. Two units of the F3 is accompanied by one cut-away model which allows us to check out some of the gizmos underneath that allow for the car’s dual-mode hybrid operation. Yes, the F3DM can run on electric power only, meaning it has zero emissions operation. BYD is the same Chinese company which Warren Buffet has invested in.

The full gallery is available after the jump.
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Geely boss: “Nothing will change for Volvo”

December 30, 2009 at 1:46 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Geely, International News, Volvo

After Ford announced that it will sell Volvo to Geely, many have raised concerns on the future health of the Swedish carmaker. As a response, Li Shufu, founder and chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, parent of Geely Auto says that Volvo’s current production, R&D facilities, union agreements and dealer networks will all be left intact, quotes a Reuters report.

“If the deal succeeds, nothing will change for Volvo, except the boss turns to Li Shufu,” the head honcho told Xinhua news agency. “Volvo and Geely will be two independently-managed brands.”

He said the Volvo purchase would help Geely, which is China’s largest private automaker, develop “new energy vehicles”, and that Geely would help Volvo reduce production costs and expand in China. “The new energy-powered vehicle will be the future of the world’s auto industry. But based on current investment in research and development, China will be left far behind the pace of developed countries,” the 46-year old Li said.

Ford expects the deal, which is estimated to cost Geely $1.8 billion, to be signed in the first quarter of 2010. Ford paid $6.45 billion for Volvo in 1999.

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B-segment Chevrolet Sail launched in China

December 30, 2009 at 11:01 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Chevrolet, China

This is the Chevrolet Sail, a B-segment sedan just introduced in China. We’re not too sure about its positioning, whether as an eventual replacement for the Chevy Lova (Aveo Sedan) which had a facelift in May, or to be sold alongside the booted Aveo.

But while the Aveo is a global GM product, this Sail is said to be Shanghai GM’s “first own brand vehicle” with the Chinese holding intellectual property rights. Shanghai GM is a joint venture between GM and SAIC.

The Sail measures 4249mm and has a wheelbase of 2465mm, which means it’s slightly smaller than the Aveo Sedan (4310mm/2480mm). The overall shape looks more modern and dynamic though, but those front bumpers remind us of the Honda City’s.

The Sail is powered by either a 87 bhp/115 Nm 1.2-litre or 103 bhp/131 Nm 1.4-litre engine. Both are chain driven DOHC 16-valve units but only the bigger motor comes with Chevy’s variable geometry intake system, VGIS. Besides the standard manual ‘box, a five-speed AMT gearbox can be specified. Equipment includes a sunroof and power retractable wing mirrors.

More pictures after the jump.
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