Archive for China

The 2010 MG6 was unveiled at the Auto Shanghai 2009 recently and is essentially an MG-badged version of the new Roewe 550. It is a larger car than the Roewe N1 Concept also shown at the Chinese autoshow.

Under the hood will be a turbocharged 1.8 liter Rover K-Series engine. MG calls it a fastback while the Roewe 550 looks more like a sedan, and its styling definitely looks sportier and edgier compared to the Roewe-based alternative. For one, the fact that there is no weird Toyota Venza-like front is a plus point.

The B5 Passat soldiers on in long wheelbase form in China with this latest version called the Volkswagen Passat Lingyu, while the newer B6 model sold here in Malaysia as the Passat is called the Magotan there.

The B5 Passat gets its wheelbase extended by 91mm to suit Chinese chauffeur-driven application (even the A4 gets extended there) and is powered by a 163 horsepower 1.8 liter turbo, up from 150 horses in the pre-update version. There are also 2.0 liter and 2.8 liter normally aspirated V6 engines.

FYI, if I am not mistaken it is this B5 Passat platform that Proton intended to use as the base for the new Perdana should the Volkswagen-Proton deal had gone through.

The C4 facelift has been extended to the notchback sedan model in China and with the facelift comes a namechange – the C-Triomphe is now known as the Citroen C-Quatre.

Sedan models or at least a notchback is important in China as like Malaysian and unlike Europe, the market there favors cars with boots. The new name is an obvious tribute to the original C4 name, which they probably decided not to use in China because of the meanings associated with the number 4.

Citroen’s stand at Auto Shanghai 2009 encompasses a 1,000 square meter stand which showcases the C4 WRC rally car, the GTbyCITOREN GT5 tie-in concept car, the C3 Picacco, and the C-Elysee powered by CNG. Next up for Citroen in China will be the new DS line.

Look after the jump for more pix of the C-Quatre.

Click here to read the rest of Citroen C-Quatre (C4 notchback sedan) in China

This is the Roewe N1 Concept, one of the first new designs to come out of the now renamed SAIC-owned Rover company. The Roewe N1 is said to be going into production by as early as early 2010, sitting below the 550 in the product range (called the 350?) and powered by Rover’s K-Series 4-cylinder engines.

Doesn’t look too bad does it?

Geely has acquired Australian automatic transmission manufacturer Drivetrain Systems International. Drivetrain Systems International is the company that supplies the 6-speed automatic transmission to Korean car company Ssangyong, which is used in the updated Ssangyong Actyon truck sold here in Malaysia. It also supplies transmissions for the Australian-built Ford Falcon and the Ford Territory.

The deal is set to help Geely expand its product line and improve its ability to develop, produce and equip its cars with competitive transmissions. Drivetrain Systems has an annual production capacity of 180,000 transmissions. No financial details related to the deal were revealed.

BYD cars have always been curiously similiar to Toyotas, for example the BYD F3 is clearly inspired from the previous generation Corolla Altis and it is sometimes referred to as the poor man’s Corolla Hybrid, since it recently was made available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain (BYD F3 DM). But erm of course there is also the BYD F8 which looks like a shrunk-down R230 pre-facelift SL convertible.

Mind you, this is a company that Warren Buffet has invested in! This new BYD M6 MPV is inspired from one of the most popular MPVs out there, the Toyota Estima. The M6 is BYD’s first MPV and it’s quite a large one, measuring 4,600mm x 1,760mm x 1,490mm with a 2,950mm wheelbase.

Under the hood will be a choice of BYD’s own 2.0 liter engine from the BYD483 series good for 138 horsepower 6,000rpm and 186Nm of torque between 4,000 to 4,500rpm, or a Mitsubishi 4G69 2.4 liter unit producing 162 horsepower between 5,000 to 6,000rpm and 220Nm of torque between 3500 to 4500rpm.

The MPV, while in its essence a boring people mover vehicle, has quite a high percentage of decent-looking models compared to ugly ones out there which means it is surprisingly easy to style and make good-looking.

Look after the jump for some sketches of the BYD M6. More details to come later when the BYD is launched, then hopefully we’ll get some interior photos.

Related Posts:
Taiwanese Yulon Motor unveils its new Luxgen MPV

Click here to read the rest of BYD M6: Estima inspired Chinese MPV

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 liter 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.

Phase 2 of the Proton GEN2 export and rebadging deal with China’s Youngman group under the Europestar brand is well underway and this is the new styling that Europestar will be applying on their locally assembled GEN2, called the Europestar RCR.

The changes are mostly on the front end with new headlamps, bumper and grille and the rear gets lots of badges including a Lotus Europestar badge, a new rear bumper and a new tail lamp design. The first phase involved CBU cars and styling was identical to the GEN2 other than different badges. The Europestar RCR is also called the Europestar Jingsu.

Source

Here’s another shot of the Great Wall Wingle being tested in Malaysia, this time snapped in Genting by reader Mior. This time there’s a very clear front shot of the car, featuring a design that was clearly “inspired” from the Volkswagen Magellan Concept (shown left). I have no idea when this is scheduled to launch, but from what I am aware of, it uses a Bosch-developed 2.8 liter turbodiesel engine putting out 95 horsepower and 225Nm from 1,600rpm. Having it appear so often doesn’t really mean anything especially with a Chinese marque as there is a precedent somewhat set by the ChangAn CM8, which was also spotted over a year before it was actually launched. In case you’re wondering what’s with the odd name, Wingle is actually said to be a combination of Wind and Eagle.

Related Posts:
Great Wall Wingle pick-up truck spotted in Segambut!

Guangzhou Toyota, the Toyota JV company in China has revealed a facelifted Toyota Camry in China. Now considering China is big enough for their own development projects, for example the Hyundai Sonata has its very own Toyota-like look in China compared to the facelifted Sonata Transform that the rest o the world gets, we don’t know yet whether this will be the same Camry facelift that Asia will be getting, but it seems likely as it doesn’t seem to have any overly localised design cues and Toyota would most likely want to push as much shared development costs as possible in light of their recent expected first ever loss in many decades.

The new Toyota Camry facelift features a new front end with a “frowny” central air intake design as opposed to the smiley one on the current Camry. The new air intake is much wider and gives the rather tame front end of our Camry a more aggressive look. On the rear there is not much changes except the rear tail lamps seem to now stick out a little, I believe some of you call this the bug-eyed look, but if it’s at the rear what should it be called, bug-butted?

Look after the jump for more shots of the facelifted Camry.

Click here to read the rest of Guangzhou Toyota launches facelifted Toyota Camry