Shanghai, October 6 (Gasgoo.com) By September 2008, China has nine automakers who have stepped across the threshold of making one million vehicles. The latest member of this “1-million-car club” is Dongfeng Nissan, said xinhuanet.com yesterday.

Dongfeng Nissan, a joint venture between Dongfeng Motor Corp and Japan’s Nissan Motor Co, celebrated its 1 millionth car rollout on September 19 in its passenger vehicle factory located at Huadu district, Guangzhou. The 1 millionth car, X-Trail, is Nissan’s latest SUV model which is going on sale in China in October.

Up to date, the nine automakers in China’s “1-million-car club” are Shanghai VW, FAW VW, Tianjin FAW, FAW Toyota, Shanghai GM, Guangzhou Honda, Chery Auto, Beijing Hyundai and Dongfeng Nissan. Of the nine companies, Chery and Tianjin FAW are own-brand Chinese automakers, while the seven others are joint ventures with global carmakers.

Since the JV’s founding, Dongfeng Nissan has achieved the one-million-car goal in five years, like Beijing Hyundai who announced the rollout of its 1 millionth car seven months ago. By September 1, 2008, FAW Toyota had also completed the output and sales of its 1 million vehicles. Volkswagen’s two Chinese joint ventures Shanghai VW and FAW VW made their 1 millionth cars 15 years and 12 years, respectively, after their birth.

Over the past 30 years, Chinese auto industry has developed rapidly, especially in the field of joint ventures with global carmakers. China has now become the world’s second largest auto market after the United States. More and more Chinese carmakers are moving toward their goals of manufacturing 1 million cars.

China’s auto imports jumped 35 percent in value in the first eight months from the same period last year, while exports surged 28 percent, according to the latest figure released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on Monday.

The combined value in imports and exports rose 31 percent in the same period. The exact values and the sales volume in the imports and exports were not immediately available.

Germany surpassed Japan as the biggest motor vehicle supplier, contributing 33 percent of the total sales value. Japan took up 32percent.

Foreign-funded companies accounted for 37 percent of the country’s total imports value, while joint-ventures imported 31 percent. That was followed by the state-owned enterprises with 20 percent share.

Beijing imported one third of the vehicles followed by Jilin with 18 percent. Guangdong took up 14 percent of the total imports value.

The CAAM data showed 19 percent of China’s auto exports went to United States, while 10 and 7 percent were imported by Japan and Russia respectively.

Shanghai, September 27 (Gasgoo.com) Since China’s vehicle recall policy took effect four year ago, carmakers in the country have recalled their defective vehicles over 120 times, involving a total of 1,546,600 units, said the Shanghai Securities News today.

The Chinese government issued the “Regulations for the Administration of the Recall of Defective Automobile Products” on March 2004 and started to implement this policy on October 1 of the same year. The automobile industry is the first in China to pilot a defective product recall system.

According to the regulations, a consumer or vehicle owner has the right to report or lodge a complaint about a car defect to the relevant government authorities, manufacturer, seller, car rental company or importer. Suggestions can also be made to the authorities concerned to start investigations relating to the recall of defective automobiles. Vehicle owners should actively cooperate with manufacturers in facilitating a recall.

A quality control executive of Shanghai GM said that the implementation of the recall policy has helped China’s carmakers to develop and compete better with global companies, and more importantly it has urged car manufacturers in China to ensure the public health, public safety and public benefits. Since October 1, 2004, Shanghai GM has recalled 48,403 units of its vehicles over seven times.

The policy requires that vehicle owners should actively cooperate with manufacturers in facilitating a recall. “Consumers’ proper understanding of the vehicle recall has guaranteed the smooth implementation of the recall system,” said an official from China’s quality control authorities.

But it’s also undeniable that the recall policy has some negative impact on China’s local auto industry in the short run, said an industry expert. “Because local Chinese vehicles and their components are of relatively low quality and therefore will more likely incur large recall risks.”

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Shanghai, September 26 (Gasgoo.com) Automakers in China are joining hands with financial institutions to offer new credit deals to potential customers in the country amid market downturns, reports China Daily.

Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co has also teamed up with Shenzhen Development Bank Co. Ltd to launch several trial auto-finance services in Shenzhen. Customers looking to buy Civic, Civic Hybrid or CR-V sport utility vehicle (SUV) models will also be able to apply for a loan without a guarantor.

Separately, Dongfeng Yueda Kia Motor Co. Ltd also tied up with China CITIC Bank Corp’s Credit Card Center to launch an installment payment service, known as “Super Cool 003 Plan”. The scheme, which has been launched in 11 Chinese cities, allow customers to apply for loans between 40,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan (US$5,880-US$29,4000), without a third party guarantor as a requirement.

Brilliance BMW said it has begun to offer zero percent financing to buyers for 24 or 36 months from September 8 to November 30, which allows BMW car buyers to pay 30% or 40% of the retail price and then spread the loan into the next two or three years.

Industry analysts observe that many automakers have adopted car financial services to stimulate vehicle sales in China, after demand cooled after inflation neared a 12-year high and a stock market slump reduced consumers’ spending power. Other one-off factors including the holding of Beijing Olympic Games and natural disasters which deterred customer purchase.

Shanghai, September 26 (Gasgoo.com) The sales company of Mercedes-Benz (China) announced yesterday that its small car Smart Fortwo will be get orders from customers in mainland China starting October 1, reported Beijing News today.

There will be four Smart Fortwo models available for sale in the Chinese market this time, to be priced between 160,000 yuan ($23,400) and 200,000 yuan. Chinese buyers can order any of the four models by phone or at the website of Mercedes-Benz (China).

The Smart Fortwo small car measures 2.7 meters in length, longer than the 2.5-meter-long international version. The elegantly small car body can make parking much more easier and save much space.

In China, too, young people want an agile, trendy vehicle for their flexible urban lifestyles in order to set themselves apart from others, Maier said, adding that the company is awaiting approval from China’s vehicle regulator to sell the car. The solid and pliant material of the car body has greatly enhanced the saftety of the car in case of crash.

The smart fortwo combines modern technology, premium quality and safety, exemplary low fuel consumption and corresponding low CO2 emissions with a unique space concept that offers advantages in the dense traffic of China’s numerous large cities.

Smart, a division of Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz brand, has a base price of $11,590 for the Fortwo Pure, while a Fortwo Passion Coupe starts at $13,590. The tiny, two-seater fortwo is currently available in about 40 countries, including the United States.