Showing posts with label China Auto Show. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China Auto Show. Show all posts

China's JAC Does it Again with Ford F-150 Pickup Truck Clone


We've seen this play before and before that and before that, but it never gets old: Chinese automakers replicating vehicles from western automakers. One brand that keeps popping up on our cloning radar is Jianghuai Automobile, more commonly known as JAC Motors.

It's latest accomplishment is the JAC 4R3 pickup truck that makes no attempt to hide the fact that it's a styling copy of the Ford F-150. Of course, as with other Chinese doppelgangers, the similarities begin and end with the appearance as it's too costly for automakers to extend the cloning to the mechanical hardware.

The 4R3 will reportedly make its debut at the Beijing Motor Show in April and will then go on sale in China where it will be offered with a 2.8-liter four-cylinder diesel engine pushing out 108-horsepower and 240Nm (177 lb-ft) of peak torque.

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Lamborghini Source Allegedly Confirms Plans for an SUV Concept


There's more news coming out today from Lamborghini in concern of the Italian firm's future plans after its CEO Stephan Winkelmann rejected the use of turbocharged engines at least until the end of the decade, earlier this week.

Today, we learned that a senior source at Lamborghini's parent company, Audi, has confirmed reports on the development of a luxury SUV concept that is pegged to make its world premiere at the Beijing motor show in late April.

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Guangzhou Automobile Says New Fiat Joint Venture will Build Alfa Romeo Cars in China


The already crowded Chinese car market will soon welcome a new and ambitious competitor as local manufacturer Guangzhou Automobile Group has completed plans to set up a new joint venture with the Fiat Group named Guangqi Fiat.

Speaking with reporters on the sidelines of this week's Guangzhou Auto Show, the Chinese company's president, Zeng Qinghong, said that Guangqi Fiat will start production as early as July of 2012.

More interestingly, Qinghong revealed that the joint venture would also build Alfa Romeo cars for the domestic market.

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Daimler and BYD to Preview Upcoming Dedicated EV with a New Concept Model

[BYD e6 EV pictured above]

Joint venture partners Daimler AG and BYD Auto revealed plans today to preview their upcoming dedicated electric-car for China with a new design concept at the next Beijing Auto Show in April of 2012.

Last year, the two companies formed a 50-50 joint R&D venture called "Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co. Ltd" or "BDNT" for short, to create a new brand that will focus on the development of pure electric vehicles for China.

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Lexus Reveals New Entry Level GS 250 with 209HP 2.5-liter V6 Engine


The new generation of the Lexus GS premium saloon will soon become more attainable –at least in certain markets around the world- as the Japanese carmaker revealed the new entry-level GS 250 today at the China International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, which will be open to the public from November 22 through 28.

The GS 250 is the third model in the new GS lineup, after the previously revealed GS 350, which is powered by a 3.5-liter V6 delivering 306-ponies and the GS 450h top-end model that links a 3.5-liter Atkinson-cycle V6 to the Lexus Hybrid Drive for a combined system output of 338-horsespower.

At the heart of the new GS 250 lies Lexus' 2.5-litre V6 gasoline engine with D-4S direct port injection and Dual VVT-i intelligent valve timing.

It produces a maximum output of 209HP (154 kW/206bhp) at 6,400rpm and 253Nm (187 lb-ft) of peak torque at 4,800rpm, accelerating the GS 250 from 0-100km/h (62mph) in 8.6 seconds en route to a top speed of 230km/h (143mph).

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Oh China…Yema Auto Presents Clones of the Audi A4, VW Tiguan and Infiniti EX


Not too long ago, in a country far, far away, Yema Auto presented a clone of the previous generation Subaru Forester. The years passed and the force behind Yema Auto became stronger and stronger…

At this week's Chengdu Auto Show 2011, the Chinese automaker unleashed a second attack with a new breed of clones named the E-SUV, T-SUV and the F16.

In all cases, the pictures speak louder than words and it doesn't take an avid automobile aficionado to see that the T-SUV is a blatant rip-off of the Volkswagen Tiguan, the E-SUV China's doppelganger of the Infiniti EX crossover and the F16 and its commercial E-TAXI sibling, copies of the older Audi A4 Avant.

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2012 BMW 6-Series Coupe Officially Revealed, 118 High-Res Pictures for Your Viewing Pleasure


BMW has put the top on its all-new 2012 6-Series with the presentation of the Coupe model ahead of its world premiere at the Shanghai Auto Show in China in April. The new 6-Series Coupe comes shortly after the convertible model that received its public debut at this year’s Detroit Motor Show in January.

Based on last year’s ‘BMW Concept 6 Series Coupe’, the styling of the Bavarian firm’s premium GT is the work of BMW design boss Adrian van Hooydonk, who replaced Chris Bangle in 2009. The new 6er feature s a far less controversial but somewhat more bland styling that its predecessor with a pronounced front end sporting a busy set of headlamps and auxiliary lights and a relatively low roofline.

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China Rumors: BMW to Team up with Brilliance and Develop Local Market EV Based on 5-Series


BMW is making plans with its Chinese partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. to develop a new fully electric model designed specifically for the local market, according to Autonews Europe citing a report from the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper.

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Honda Rolls Out New Li Nian S1 Subcompact Sedan at China Auto Show


China's recently developed passion for cars is paving the way for an increasing number of new vehicles targeting value-conscious consumers. Along with Nissan, which took the wraps of the 2011 Sunny, Honda also debuted a new small sedan today at the 2010 China International Automobile Exhibition.

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New Nissan Sunny Sedan Unveiled at China Auto Show. Is this the New 2012 Versa?


Taking center stage and making its world debut at the 8th China (Guangzhou) International Automobile Exhibition, is Nissan's all-new global small sedan, which will be locally marketed as the Sunny. According to the Japanese automaker, the new small sedan will go on sale first in China in January 2011 and then progressively across 170 countries worldwide under different vehicle brand names.

Even though Nissan's Spartan press release did not mention the Versa, there are one too many styling similarities between the new Sunny and the 2012 Versa sedan teased in an official sketch released by the automaker in October 2010. However, we have to stress the fact that Nissan has not made a connection between the two cars.

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Bonnes Nouvelles! Citroën Boss Says Metropolis Concept will Spawn DS9 Limo Made in China


Citroën's CEO of Asian operations, Gregoire Olivier, has revealed that the company is planning a production version of the beautifully styled Metropolis concept car to compete against German luxury brands, primarily in China.

The sporty looking limousine, which will most likely be called the DS9, will be built by PSA/Peugeot-Citroën's joint venture with Changan Automobile Group in China.

"The Metropolis will happen -- it will become a real car," Olivier told Autonews China on the sidelines of an industry conference in Shanghai. "The same styling elements will be used for a high-level Citroen car to be developed in China. We want to build up the premier line in China -- the Metropolis is emblematic of our approach."

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China Hopes to Bully Foreign Companies, Trade Market Access for Electric Vehicle Technology


The chips are finally hitting the fan. China has put the word out there that it may play a big power card in the near future: give us all the secrets to your tech, or we won't let you build and sell in our ever-growing Chinese market.

According to the Wall Street Journal, executives have been given a proposal that would provide China with a majority share in any joint venture involving foreign companies introducing "key new-energy components...such as advanced lithium-ion batteries and high-power electric motors". This would allow China to gain control of the technology that minority shareholders (i.e. anyone else) bring to the table.

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2010 Beijing Auto Show was Huge and Successful


As more evidence that the Chinese auto industry is here to stay (All hail our future Chinese overlords!), the 2010 Beijing International Auto Exhibition - aka the Beijing Auto Show - has been labeled a "great success".

To prove it, here are the numbers:

780,000 visitors
200,000 square meter exhibition area (over 2 million square feet)
12,000+ journalists
1,564 "media organizations"
990 Vehicles on display
89 World debuts (14 from global manufacturers)
65 Concept cars (37 from global manufacturers)
Yeah, that's big. And they're hoping to do even better in 2012.

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China's Electric Chrysler Sebring: BAIC BE071


Some live pictures of BAIC's Sebring-based electric car have been found, and the results are thankfully not scary to look at.

China's BAIC (Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Co.) opened its own dedicated alternate propulsion division a while back in the form of the Beijing New Energy Automotive Company. Now that's a name that rolls off the tongue.

B-NEAC's goal is to build a few hundred test vehicles as taxis that would be rechargeable throughout Beijing. If the taxis are successful, stage two would consist of building a bunch more and lease them directly to the public.

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VIDEO: BMW Concept Gran Coupé Presentation from Beijing


BMW held a special private reception on the evening of the first press day at the Beijing Motor Show to unveil its all-new Concept Gran Coupé as well as the long wheelbase versions of the 5 Series, specially developed for the Chinese market, and this here video includes scenes from that event.

Most of you will probably be interested only in BMW's conceptual answer to Merc's CLS sports saloon, so in the video after the jump, fast forward to the 1:25 minute mark for the part with the Gran Coupé.

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VIDEO: 2011 Hyundai Accent / Verna Small Sedan


This here is the first video of Hyundai's all-new 2011 Accent sedan that made its world premiere at the Beijing Auto Show as the Verna. Sporting a new design that draws directly from the latest Sonata, the Accent / Verna also gets a new platform and a choice of 1.4-liter and 1.6-liter engines with either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission.

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Citroën Metropolis Concept: First Real Life Photos and Video


These are the first 'real life' pictures of Citroën's latest concept car, the Metropolis, that gives certain German makers (see Porsche and BMW) a lesson or two on how to design an eye-candy luxury sports saloon.

The styling of the 5.3m long and 2m wide but only 1.4m high Metropolis has echoes of the French automaker's well received GT supercar concept of 2008. This one was developed by Citröen's Shanghai-based design team.

Under the subtle "Pearl Silk" colored bodywork there's a plug-in hybrid drivetrain that utilizes "an optimized" 2.0-liter V6 petrol engine, an electric motor and a 7-speed, dual-clutch electronic gearbox.

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Beijing Show: MG Zero Supermini Concept


This year's edition of the Beijing Motor Show saw China-owned MG unveiling the 'ZERO', a thinly disguised concept of an upcoming production model in the supermini segment -most likely called MG3- that could go on sale in China first and then in Europe as early as next year.

The company emphasized the fact that the 4m long supermini was developed in the UK by MG Global Design team, led by British MG Design Director Anthony (Tony) Williams-Kenny, based in Birmingham.

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Babes from the 2010 Beijing Motor Show


Now that you have probably seen and discussed every and any relevant new model, it's time to take a look at some of the more feminine aspects of the Beijing Auto Show.

Have a gander at some of the ladies that decided to stand for hours on end around a bunch of relatively boring (at least most of them) reveals. Now that's what I call commitment. Gallery after the jump.

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It's Bigger!: Mercedes-Benz Launches E-Class LWB in Beijing


Mercedes used the Beijing Auto Show as a stage to debut its new, Chinese-market E-Class L. Built locally by Beijing Benz Automotive Co.,Ltd (BBAC), the E-Class L is nothing more than a stretched E-Class.

Other than that, what do you need to know? Not much, actually. The car's length, wheelbase, and rear legroom have increase by 14 cm (5.5 inches) and the front seats can be controlled from the back (so don't let jerks sit in the back...).

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