Zhengzhou Nissan Automobile Co., Ltd., one of the two Chinese joint ventures of Nissan Motor
Co., Ltd. will produce X-trail and Qashqai, two SUV models, for its sister company Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company.
A top executive of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. (DFL) has not denied the story, only saying that the plan is currently under feasibility study and will be released in the summer of 2010, when the new plant of Zhengzhou Nissan starts production.
This year, besides NV200, a new car model that is going to be rolled out, Zhengzhou Nissan will acquire the sales right of another imported car model from Nissan. By far, Nissan (China) Investment Co., Ltd. has held talks with some major dealers for the sale.
Currently, Zhengzhou Nissan is selling SUV Paladin, pick-up trucks, minivans, and light-duty truck Cabstar. After the launch of NV200, the company plans to divide its sales network according to target customers.
Zhengzhou Nissan’s plan is to boost the number of its sales outlets from 170 to 200 around China. Last year, the company sold 56,600 vehicles, rising 20% from a year earlier.
Toyota Motor Corp., the largest automaker in China, will develop a mini family car targeted at China, one of the biggest auto markets worldwide, said sources.
Compared with various models that Toyota Motor is selling in China, the new car will be fixed at a low price range. The automaker expects the car to attract customers that are seeking their first cars and drive up its sales in the inland areas of the country.
The new car is predicted to have displacement of 1.2 liters and hold about four persons. The automaker is scheduled to start to produce the car before 2015.
Toyota Motor will make a thorough survey to the need of customers with the help of its outlets in China, so as to decide the shape, configuration, and the price of the new product.
For the moment, the Japanese auto titan has about 500 franchise stores in the country. It will greatly lift the number of outlets in inland areas as well as small and medium cities.
Shanghai, September 8 (Gasgoo.com) Nissan Motor unveiled its zero-emission electric car “Leaf” on April 2, and is planning to import the Leaf model to the Chinese market in 2011, Chinese media reported today. Nissan’s China venture Dongfeng Nissan may produce the Leaf later.
The Nissan Leaf will be the first model of the electric vehicle series to be made by Nissan Motor. Japan’s No. 3 automaker and its French partner, Renault SA, have been the most aggressive proponents of pure electric vehicles in the auto industry, planning to mass-market the clean but expensive zero-emission cars globally in 2012.
Nissan will begin selling the first Leaf cars in the United States and Japan in the second half of 2010, to add more models in rapid succession. In 2011, Dongfeng Nissan will import the Leaf cars to China for sale, and the joint venture will produce the Leaf model if the Chinese market demand is rising.
Toyota Motor and Volkswagen also plan to launch electric cars in the next several years. Chinese carmakers BYD Auto and Chery Auto have already unveiled their own-brand electric cars, with BYD’s F3DM to go on mass sale later this month, and Chery’s S18 model to sell in mid-2010.
Nissan’s Leaf will have a cruising range of 160km (100 miles) and a top speed of over 140 km/hour (76 mph) on a single battery charge. It is scheduled to start mass-production for global sale by 2012.
Toyota Motor Corp. plans to produce low-priced cars for emerging markets in China and Thailand starting in 2012, the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun reported Monday.
Without citing where it obtained the information, the paper said that the Japanese auto maker aims for annual output of 150,000 units of its so-called “Entry Family Car.”
Demand for low-priced, small cars in emerging nations such as China, India and Brazil is expected to grow in the coming years and Toyota is aiming to cash in on this trend, the paper noted.
Chery Automobile will mass produce all its new-energy vehicles by 2010, said Yin Tongyue, director of the automaker to Xinkuai Newspaper.
The Anhui-based automaker showcased four new-energy vehicles — Tiggo 3, Riich M1 EV, A3 hybrid and Futwin Coupe II — at the 2009 Shanghai auto show which had curtains fall yesterday.
“We rolled out the S18 pure electric sedan on February 16, and we will make efforts to put it on sale by the end of 2009 or the beginning of 2010,” Yin said.
Chery Auto has a broad layout of electric vehicles, ranging from mini vehicles, small cars, middle-sized cars to SUV and MPV, according to Yin.
Prison Break’ star Wentworth Miller appears in Shanghai again to promote GM’s new Chevrolet Cruze on Sunday. He came to Shanghai last month to shoot a commercial for Cruze. The star has drawn full media attention in the buildup to the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show that opens today.
The General Motors China family will be displaying 37 production and concept vehicles at Auto Shanghai 2009, this year’s leading auto show in China.
Shanghai GM will have on display its full range of Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Saab models as well as several new vehicles.
The 2010 Audi Q7 crossover made its global debut at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show today.
The new Q7 features little styling changes, which include redesigned grille and bumpers, LED turn signals and daytime running lights, four new paint colors and new 18-inch alloy wheels.
Under the hood, there’ll be three different options for buyers. On the gasoline side, there’s a 3.6-liter V6 with 280hp yielding 14mpg city and 20 mpg highway, as well as a 4.2-liter V8 with 350hp that earns mileage in the 13 city/18 highway range.
Most notable is the Q7’s new TDI clean diesel option: that 3.0-liter V6 generates 225hp, and it beats both gas engines in fuel economy, getting 17mpg city/25mpg on the highway. There’s a new MMI controller for the technically adventurous, too.
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