China » Australian Car Advice

Fiat Panda Chinese copy banned from Europe

July 21st, 2008 22 Comments

In another case which should set a precedence for Chinese manufacturers attempting to import cloned cars into Western markets, an Italian court ruled this week that the Chinese minicar produced by Chinese automaker Great Wall is banned from Europe.

The car in questions is the Great Wall Peri minicar (pictured above), which to the untrained eye, looks nearly identical to the Fiat Panda, Europe’s best selling minicar.

First Chinese car to arrive in October

June 18th, 2008 69 Comments

The time has come, Chinese made cars are now only a few months away from entering Australian markets. The distributor, Ateco Automotive (better known for brands such as Fiat/ Ferrari and Alfa Romeo) will import the first of many Chinese cars to Australia and New Zealand in October of this year.

The announcement comes as a surprise as previously we were told there would be no Chinese cars in Australia till at least 2009. According to Ateco negotiations have been going on for almost three years.

GM, Ford & Toyota expand in China

June 18th, 2008 6 Comments

General Motors, Ford and Toyota have all released details about their ongoing expansion in China, the world’s fastest growing automobile market.

All three currently have a foothold in the Chinese market, with GM leading the race with its joint venture managing over 1 million sales last year.

Hyundai to launch small car in India & China

June 2nd, 2008 3 Comments

Korea’s largest car manufacturer, Hyundai, has revealed plans to launch its small car in India by 2011 or 2012. The car will also find its way to China and be priced at around $3,500 - $1000 more than Tata’s Nano.

Hyundai Logo

Hyundai India’s managing director H.S. Lheem told reporters that his company has no immediate plans to fight directly with the Nano, while dropping hints that the small car would be launched in other countries also.

Toyota may build Prius at GM plant

May 31st, 2008 164 Comments

Toyota is reported to be in talks with General Motors in the US about a plan to build the hybrid Prius at a joint production facility in California.

According to reports in Tokyo published by the respected Tokyo Shimbun newspaper the unlikely bedfellows could strike a deal to build the Prius for the first time outside Japan and China.

Chinese beat speeding tickets

May 9th, 2008 20 Comments

With the Chinese car industry doubling in size on a yearly basis, the number of cars in the Asian country is growing at a dramatic rate. With more cars, comes traffic offenses, and of course, everyone’s favourite, speeding tickets.

Being a nation of doers, the Chinese have invested hard earned cash in not getting caught by fixed speed traps. Using a rather simple invention that would be best suited to a James Bond film, many are escaping speeding tickets and sending the ticket processing system into chaos.

MG TF roadster set for revival

May 8th, 2008 8 Comments

Britain’s most iconic roadster is slated for a revival with the MG TF set to make a comeback in the hands of its new Chinese owners.

Despite its newly found Chinese roots, production for the new TF will commence at MG Rover’s old home of Longbridge in the West Midlands - hitting showrooms by 2010, AutoExpress reports.

Chinese cars coming to Australia

March 19th, 2008 99 Comments

It’s official. Chinese cars will be here next year. Ateco, the Australian importer of European prestige brands such as Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Citroen and Fiat has just announced plans to import cars made by Chery Automobile Company.

The two companies have been in talks since late 2005 but the distributorship agreement was only executed earlier this month.

“We believe that China represents the future as a source of automotive products which makes this association with Chery a very exciting development for Ateco,” Ateco governing director, Neville Crichton said.

Ateco will import three Chery models to Australia next year, a light and a small passenger car as well as a small SUV. Depending on sales success, there is a good possibility of more models making their way here with Chery expected to expand its range with 38 new models over the next five years.

The SUV is more than likely going to be the Tiggo 3 (pictured above), the light car is still unknown while the small car could look something like this:

The A1 is a great attempt by Chery to enter the small car market. Utilising a front-wheel drive setup, the car was designed by struggling Italian design house Bertone. Currently it’s available with either a 1.1-litre (50kW @ 6000rpm and 90Nm @ 3500rpm) or a 1.3-litre engine (61kW @ 6000rpm and 114Nm @ 3800).

The A1 is only available with a five-speed manual gearbox and returns a fuel economy of around 6L/100km, according to official figures.

A national dealer network is currently in the works and all Chinese cars will be sold and badged as Chery.

The task to establish a new brand will be very difficult. Any early mishaps (e.g. bad ANCAP rating) could potentially damage the reputation of Chery irreparably. Nonetheless, with Ateco’s experience in public relations and marketing, Chery might just stand a chance.

Despite the many negatives we have seen over the last 12 months, with the likes of Chinese manufacturer Brilliance failing miserably in Europe, Chery is arguably the best of the Chinese automakers.

The company started building cars in late 1999 (yes, not that long ago) and managed to sell 1 million cars in its first 8 years of operation. In 2007 it sold 261,000 vehicles domestically and exported another 120,000.

Chery can currently manufacture 650,000 cars a year but plans to expand that to 1 million in the next few years. According to the company, all cars are produced in “ultra modern” factories using “extensive production equipment from overseas, usually Europe”. The company employs about 25,000 people.

It will be interesting to see how Ateco plans to advertise and market Chery next year. The Chinese brand will have a lot to prove and critics will undoubtedly give the company a hard time.

But the real issue is not about mishaps and negative reviews, it’s a core values question, if the price is right, would you buy a Chinese made Chery vehicle?

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Chinese cars going hybrid

January 22nd, 2008 11 Comments

Chinese car makers are looking to the west for another source of revenue and to begin the hard fight to establish themselves as reputable brands. But there is a big problem. Korean manufacturers are already taking the budget end of the market so if China wants to succeed they need to be different.

It seems that unlike Brilliance which went head first into a 1-star safety rating and consequently a dismal failure in Europe, other Chinese manufacturers are bidding their time before spending millions on the move.

One such company Chinese company is BYD Auto Co. a subsidiary of BYD, which has been producing lithium ion batteries for mobile phones since the mid ’90s and is today the world’s largest supplier of nickel-cadmium batteries for consumer products.

So what sort of car will a battery company produce? A hybrid.

Our strategy is to present ourselves as a green company, we want our cars to be seen as offering new technology at a good price.” said BYD President Wang Chuanfu at the Detroit auto show.

In case you are confused and wondering how Chinese manufacturers are planning hybrid cars when some of the leading western automakers are still struggling with the idea, the answer is simple, no Chinese automaker has yet started mass production of an electric or hybrid vehicle - thanks to huge technical challenges.

Another Chinese manufacturer following the same line of thought is Geely. The company has developed the Hifun hybrid and is working on not only hybrid but electric cars as well.

Furthermore the company has developed a tyre blowout monitoring and braking system that can apparently help prevent accidents if a tyre fails. According to Geely the system is nothing short of “a breakthrough in automobile safety“.

Chinese manufacturers will only have one shot at making a good first impression in the west. It will only take a few unit failures and the entire operation will be unsuccessful.

“We have new technology, U.S. consumers don’t understand the Geely brand, so we need to make a good first impression.” said Geely Chairman Li Shifu.

In reality if Chinese automakers wanted to enter the US market armed with a secret weapon, they would all be looking at electric cars. Who wouldn’t buy a car that uses no fuel?

BYD is working on just such a thing and has publicly stated that a new energy car will be on the road in China this year, without specifying what kind of energy.

So what will it take for Chinese manufacturers to win your heart? An electric car? Hybrid? Improved safety?

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GM to build a hybrid car in China

November 29th, 2007 6 Comments

With the Beijing Olympics just around the corner, China faces one big problem - pollution. The air quality in the capital has reached such drastic levels that some athletes feel they won’t be able to get the necessary oxygen to perform.

In August this year an air quality survey in Beijing found 200mg of particulate matter in every cubic metre of air, which is four times worse than the level considered safe in Europe and Australia.

China feels that addressing climate change and pollution will hinder its industrial and social growth which includes the enormous desire for China’s middle class to own a car.