JAC building its second car plant

After selling nearly 200,000 passenger vehicles last year, Jianghuai Automobile Co (JAC) has begun construction on a second car plant in East China's Anhui province.

Long known for its commercial trucks, JAC gained approval to make cars in 2007 and built its first auto plant in Hefei, capital of Anhui, with a capacity of 300,000 units.

According to local media reports, the company plans to invest 770 million yuan this year in its second car factory in Hefei, which will require a total investment of 2.19 billion yuan.

Scheduled for completion in two years, the plant will have an annual production capacity of 240,000 cars, mainly mid-sized sedans.

New Hyundai joint venture in Sichuan

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motors Corp is set to enter China's commercial vehicle market after inking an agreement with Sichuan's Nanjun Automobile Co on April 29.

According to the Sichuan provincial government's official website, the two companies will form Sichuan Hyundai Automobile Co in the city of Ziyang, which already has an industrial chain making trucks, diesel engines, tires and components.

Each side will hold a 50 percent share in the joint venture, which will require an investment of 3.6 billion yuan in its first phase to build a facility with the capacity to make 200,000 vehicles annually by 2013.

Long-range plans call for production of 700,000 vehicles by 2020.

SVW to co-develop new luxury sedan

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp recently signed an agreement with Volkswagen Group to co-develop a luxury sedan at their joint venture in China, the first of its kind in the VW brand's global portfolio.

Shanghai Volkswagen said in a statement that the new sedan will be locally produced for the Chinese market, but sources familiar with the deal said the car is also likely to sell internationally.

The company did not reveal a timetable for development of the model.

Sharp growth in BYD Q1 profits

Shenzhen-based automaker BYD sold 45,000 cars in April, up 40.6 percent over its poor showing in the period a year ago, but a decline from the 68,000 cars in sold in March, the company said.

Sales of the BYD F3 totaled 21,000 cars last month, while its F0 sold 15,000 units.

The company reported a net profit of more than 1.7 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2011, a remarkable growth of 255 percent from the same period of 2010.

China's securities regulator said last Thursday it will review BYD's initial public offering application today. The Chinese battery and car maker said in a separate statement last week that it plans to sell no more than 79 million shares, or 3.4 percent of its total capital, ahead of a listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

All-time record set in auto imports

The numbers of imported vehicles in March reached a historic record, according to statistics released by China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on May 5.

CAAM said China imported 97,900 vehicles in March, up about 71 percent from February, and 14.68 percent over the same period of 2010. The total value of imported vehicles surpassed $3.85 billion, up nearly 64 percent from last month, and a 19.43 percent increase from a year ago.

Statistics also showed the average price of imported vehicles was 250,000 yuan. When tariffs and dealer fees were added, the average price reached about 400,000 yuan.

SUVs accounted for half of imported vehicles, while luxury vehicles and niche models including the Volkswagen Beetle and Subaru comprised the rest.

The country's vehicle import value was about 110 billion yuan, while export value more than 90 billion yuan, a deficit of more than 20 billion yuan.

Motoring

(China Daily 05/09/2011 page18)