Porsche AG appoints two new vice presidents in China

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- The Board of Management of Porsche AG recently nominated Gray Shone as vice president of customer relationship management of Porsche China and appointed Carsten Hess as vice president of strategy and business development of Porsche China. Both of them will report directly to Mrs. Sheng Tantzscher, acting president and CEO of Porsche China.To better meet the demands of Chinese customers and also provide better service for them, Porsche China currently set up two new departments, the customer relationship management department and the strategy and business development department. Gary Shone will be the first vice president of customer relationship management department and Carsten Hess will be the first vice president of strategy and business development department.

Mr. Gary Shone has 25-year experience in premium automobile management abroad. He joined Porsche China as the general manager for Porsche Centre Beijing Central in 2012. Moreover, he took charge of three Porsche Centers in 2016.

In addition, Carsten Hess has served at Porsche since he started his career. He is a veteran in premium automobile marketing and business development with 15-year management experience. Since he joined Porsche in 2003, he took various posts, such as senior sales and aftersales manager and senior manager of marketing planning for the 911 series models.
All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce, copy and use the editorial content without permission. Contact us: autonews@gasgoo.com.

Install Gasgoo APPAnytime and anywhere to know the dynamics of China's auto industry

• 1Dongfeng Nissan to release first pure electric vehicle model in April
• 2Tesla fatal crash case in China: company admits the car in “autopilot” when accident happened
• 3Geely to set up new DMA plant in Ningbo for new flagship sedan
• 4BAIC BJEV sets up new company to expand production of electric powertrains
• 5Nio reported to hire banks for IPO in U.S.

Top 10 SUV models by January sales

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- According to the sales data released by the China Passenger Car Association, the Haval H6 was still the best-selling model in the Chinese SUV segment. In January, 2018, sales of the Haval H6 surged 28.57% year on year and increased 7.27% month on month to 59,133 units. Launched on Feb. 20, 2017, the Baojun 510 was the second best-selling SUV model with deliveries of 58,006 units in January, increasing 7.32% month on month. Though the Trumpchi GS4 ranked third among the top ten SUV models, it lagged far behind the Haval H6 and the Baojun 510 with sales of 33,935 units in January. Besides, it suffered a YoY decrease of 2.68% but saw a MoM surge of 52.72%.
Featuring a small gap with the Trumpchi GS4's January sales, the Geely Boyue took the fourth place with January sales of 30,381 units, soaring 50.8% over the previous year and down 2.64% month on month. Noticeably, among the top ten SUV models, eight models were from self-owned vehicle brands. What's worth mentioning, three models were from Changan Automobile, the Changan CS55, the Changan CS35 and the Changan CS75.
The Envision and the Changan CS75 were the last two models among the top 10 models. Both models suffered YoY sales slump of 29.75% and 20.12% as well as slight MoM sales drop of 5.5% and 2.05% respectively.
All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce, copy and use the editorial content without permission. Contact us: autonews@gasgoo.com.

Install Gasgoo APPAnytime and anywhere to know the dynamics of China's auto industry

• 1BAIC, Daimler invest RMB 11.9 billion for production expansion
• 2Great Wall Motor’s chairman, president fine themselves sum of RMB 5 million for uncompleted 2017 sales target
• 3AIWAYS, DeepBlue sign cooperation agreement to co-develop intelligent vehicle
• 4Top 10 SUV models by January sales
• 5Baojun 530 to hit the market on Mar. 11 with larger size than Geely Boyue

Zhejiang to build China’s first intelligent "super expressway"

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- China will build its first intelligent "super expressway" in Zhejiang Province before the 2022 Asian Games kicking off in Hangzhou, according to local authorities.
It is reported that the 161-kilometre-long, six-lane expressway, linking Hangzhou and Ningbo, is expected to increase the average traffic speed by 20%-30% through a new smart cloud platform supported by big data.
The smart system will integrate a monitoring system with a warning system to achieve the synergy of drivers, vehicles and roads, according to Ren Zhong, deputy director of the provincial department of transportation.
In near-term time, the expressway can realize the free-flow charging. In addition, it will also include internet of vehicles technologies, supporting autonomous driving in the future.
Ren also added that they will provide mobile charging for the passing electric vehicles using solar power, photovoltaic power from road surface and plug-in charging piles. They aim to achieve wireless charging in the future.
Besides, the designers of “super expressway” will enhance the system safety to minimize the occurrence or harm of accidents and realize "zero-death" in the future.
All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce, copy and use the editorial content without permission. Contact us: autonews@gasgoo.com.

Install Gasgoo APPAnytime and anywhere to know the dynamics of China's auto industry

• 1Preview of electric vehicles to be rolled out in 2018
• 2Geely invests RMB 32.6 billion to build new energy vehicle production base
• 3Top stories of Changan Auto in 2017
• 4Top 20 automakers by January PV sales in China
• 5Geely to introduce several NEV models in 2018

Top 10 Luxury Car Brands by January Sales in China

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Up to now, a total of 10 luxury auto brands have released their January sales in China. Out of the 10 brands, only one brand saw sales decrease in January in China. Half of them realized double-digit year-on-year sales growth while the growth rate of Audi exceeded 70 percent.
With a total delivery of 68,425 units in China last month, Mercedes-Benz was the best-seller among all luxury auto brands. Its sales growth rate in China was nearly twice as many as its global growth rate and its China sales took up 35.38 percent of its global monthly sales.
Audi sold 60,688 vehicles in China in the first month of this year. With a year-on-year sales surge of 73.3 percent, Audi’s China sales accounted for 40.7 percent of its global monthly sales.
Apart from the top 3 luxury brands, Cadillac became the only luxury brand whose China January sales surpassed 20,000 units. Last month, Cadillac’s sales in China jumped 12 percent from a year earlier, nearly 5,400 units more than that of the following Jaguar Land Rover.
With 11,537 vehicles delivered in China, Volvo China January sales ranked seventh among the ten luxury brands. This year, new products based on the all-new CMA will go on sale in China, which may help to improve its product portfolio.
In total, the 10 brands delivered 250,000 vehicles in China last month, up 25 percent compared with the same period of last year.
All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce, copy and use the editorial content without permission. Contact us: autonews@gasgoo.com.

Install Gasgoo APPAnytime and anywhere to know the dynamics of China's auto industry

• 1Preview of electric vehicles to be rolled out in 2018
• 2Geely invests RMB 32.6 billion to build new energy vehicle production base
• 3Top stories of Changan Auto in 2017
• 4Top 20 automakers by January PV sales in China
• 5Geely to introduce several NEV models in 2018

Top 20 automakers by January sales in China

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- According to the data released by China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) and corresponding automakers, the deliveries of PVs (excluding minivan) in China last month reached around 2,224,000 units, up 7.1% year on year. The SAIC-VW, FAW-VW and SAIC-GM, the top three automakers by sales, all delivered over 180,000 units in January this year.

A large number of China’s self-owned brands obtained great performance in both sales volume and growth. Last month, Geely Auto, the fourth on the sales list, sold 154,035 vehicles which outnumbered Dongfeng Nissan who only delivered 115,113 units within same period.
Besides, Changan Auto moved up three places in the sales ranking to the seventh compared with the previous month, with 111,224 units delivered in January. SAIC Motor passenger vehicle Co. (SAIC Motor PV) and GAC Trumpchi handed over 69,981 units and 60,154 units respectively, both rising 7 places on the sales list. Nevertheless, Chery Auto experienced a downturn in sales with its ranking slumping 7 places to twentieth from the previous month.
It is a surprise that Beijing Benz and Brilliance-BMW entered the top 20 list by sales in January this year. Luxury vehicle brands Benz and BMW have outperformed Ford which may indicate that China is in a sound economic condition.
As to the year-on-year sales growth, self-owned brands seized the top four places. Last month, the sales of SAIC Motor PV, Geely Auto, BYD Auto and GAC Trumpchi jumped 80.2%, 69%, 47% and 30% year on year respectively. Especially, the sales growth of Geely Auto was achieved based on 91,136 units of the same period in 2017.
With respect to joint-venture automakers, FAW-VW and FAW-Toyota both enjoyed 23% of year-on-year sales growth in January. It is noteworthy that the two joint ventures both focus on sedans. Their upward sales probably signify the resurrection of sedan segment in China.
An important fact which should be taken into account is that the Spring Festival last year was in January which led to a less thriving sales performance in China’s auto market.
Among the 20 automakers on the list, Beijing Hyundai and Changan-Ford were the only two who suffered year-on-year sales decrease of over 20%.
All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce, copy and use the editorial content without permission. Contact us: autonews@gasgoo.com.

• 1FAW Toyota January sales surge 49% year on year
• 2Ctrip enters car sharing field
• 3Geely invests RMB 32.6 billion to build new energy vehicle production base
• 4Top stories of Chery Auto in 2017
• 5Top stories of Changan Auto in 2017

NIO to build own factory in Shanghai

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- NIO’s second factory will be located in Jiading District, Shanghai, according to a local media. People familiar with the matter said that the factory will cover 800 mu (about 533,333 square meters) and the automaker will begin to construct the factory in the middle of this year.
NIO will build the factory on its own, rather than jointly establishing the factory with Jianghuai Automobile, just like its first factory in Hefei. It is revealed that the first mass-produced model, ES8 will be built in its Hefei factory while the factory in Shanghai will produce its future models.
Actually, early in December, 2016, NIO and NIO Capital entered into strategic partnership with Hubei province and signed agreement with Hubei Yangtze River Industry Fund and Wuhan East Lake High-Tech Development Zone. In accordance with the agreement, NIO new energy industry development fund would be launched in Wuhan and the companies would invest no less than RMB 20 billion to build an intelligent new energy vehicle industry park in Wuhan East Lake District. At that time, this cooperation suggested that NIO may build its own factory in Hubei province. But up to now, there is no progress news about the corporation.
Recently, it is reported that NIO will start to deliver its first mass-produced model, ES8, to customers from the end of April. The first 10,000 vehicles of the Founder Edition will all be delivered to customers by September.
The new factory news comes after only one month after the start-up named its quality vice president. In December, 2017, Dr. Feng Shen, former president of Volvo Cars China R&D and president of China Operations for Polestar, joined NIO as quality vice president and the chairman of quality steering committee.
All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce, copy and use the editorial content without permission. Contact us: autonews@gasgoo.com.

Install Gasgoo APPAnytime and anywhere to know the dynamics of China's auto industry

• 1Guoxuan High-tech signs strategic cooperation agreement with Dayun Auto
• 2China Ministry of Transport formulates driverless tech planning
• 3Nissan China sales grows 13.1 percent in January
• 4Great Wall Motor January sales jumps 20.61 percent year on year
• 5Dongfeng Venucia sees January sales jump of 21.8%

Great Wall Motor January sales jumps 20.61 percent year on year

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Great Wall Motor sold 110,040 vehicles in January, jumping 20.61 percent from a year earlier, the automaker announced on Wednesday.
The sales of its pickup brand, Wingle, grew by 20.14 percent year on year to 11,023 units. Last month, the SUV sales of Great Wall Motor increased 22.11 percent to 98,748 units. WEY, its luxury SUV brand sold a total of 20,289 vehicles last month, falling nearly 5 percent compared with the previous month. Both of its two models achieved a total volume of over 10,000 units.
Haval brand delivered over 78,459 vehicles in the first month of this year, down 3.77 percent from a year ago. After several months’ year-on-year decrease, the sales of Haval H6 picked up to 59,133 units, up 28.57 percent compared with the previous year.
In the sedan segment, there was only one model on sale, namely C30, whose January sales slumped 48.76 percent to 269 units. Last month, the automaker exported 2,983 vehicles to overseas market, soaring 46.87 percent year on year.
All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce, copy and use the editorial content without permission. Contact us: autonews@gasgoo.com.

Install Gasgoo APPAnytime and anywhere to know the dynamics of China's auto industry

• 1BYD to release two pure electric SUVs with maximum range of 400km
• 2Geely said to finish acquiring Daimler shares soon
• 3Li Shufu: Geely invests over £4 million in UK EV business
• 4BYD secures 50% market share in Britain's battery electric bus segment
• 5Quanergy to build biggest production base in China

NIO to deliver ES8 from end of April

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- NIO, a global electric start-up based in China, will start to deliver its first mass-produced model, ES8, to customers from the end of April, according to the automaker. Before the official delivery, customers should pay RMB 40,000 as part of the total price on March 1.
The owner-to-be can test drive the mass-produced version in March. The first 10,000 vehicles will be the Founder Edition and all buyers can receive their vehicles by September.
At the sametime, NIO also provide two service systems in terms of charging and maintenance. The charging service, dubbed “Energy Free”, is for those owners who don’t have exclusive charging piles. ES8 owners can make an appointment for charging via APP and NIO staff will pick up the vehicle to charge it at certain charging station before the staff returns it back. The service price is RMB 980 per month while the first 1,000 kWh will be free, which can power the vehicle for 5,000 km. However, the service is not available in all cities in China.
The maintenance service, named Service Free, is priced at RMB 14,800 and the compulsory traffic insurance is deemed as core attraction. Under the service system, the repairing and maintenance is free of charge. NIO will get the vehicle first and finish the maintenance or repairing in 24 hours. If not, the automaker will provide another vehicle for temporary use.
All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce, copy and use the editorial content without permission. Contact us: autonews@gasgoo.com.

Install Gasgoo APPAnytime and anywhere to know the dynamics of China's auto industry

• 1FAW Besturn plans to launch 2 new SUVs in 2018
• 2GAC Motor Xingjiang plant starts operation with annual capacity of 50,000 units
• 3New GAC Trumpchi GE3 to hit the market in August with range of 400km
• 4SAIC VW January sales face slight YoY growth to 213,919 units
• 5Lynk & Co dealership expected to be doubled by end of 2018

Honda China January sales jump by 10.9% while CRV sales fall 14.4%

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Honda handed over 126,174 vehicles in China in January, up 10.9 percent year on year. As to its two joint ventures in China, GAC Honda January sales increased by 7.5 percent to 70,811 units while Dongfeng Honda delivered 55,363 vehicles in the first month of this year.  
Among all models under GAC Honda, the Accord is the best-seller of last month, with a total sales volume of 18,972 units, growing 6.9 percent from a year earlier. The Fit had the highest year-on-year growth rate in January. GAC Honda sold 8,013 Fits last month, soaring 82.3 percent compared with the same month of last year. The luxury marque under Honda, Acura, delivered 734 vehicles in January, up 5.9 percent year on year.
Three models from Dongfeng Honda delivered over 10,000 vehicles in January. They are the CR-V, the Civic and the XR-V. The Civic and the XR-V achieved a respective year-on-year growth rate of 14.9 percent and 9.5 percent while the CR-V January sales decreased 14.43 percent from a year ago to 13,763 units.
Customers’ rights protection action may be the reason for the CR-V’s sales decrease. Last month, customers from different cities claimed that the CR-V’s engine has design flaws and that the aftermarket service of the company deliberately ignores the potential safety problems. The automaker said it would give an official response before the Spring Festival.
All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce, copy and use the editorial content without permission. Contact us: autonews@gasgoo.com.

Install Gasgoo APPAnytime and anywhere to know the dynamics of China's auto industry

Geely said to finish acquiring Daimler shares soon

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- People from investment banks said that Geely has almost finished acquiring certain shares of Daimler Group at present and the deal is expected to be closed after the Spring Festival.
Even though it is reported that Daimler had rebuffed Geely’s offer to buy a stake of up to 5 percent, the Chinese automaker managed to buy Daimler shares on the secondary market. The purchaser is said to be Geely Holding Group, but the specific number of shares Geely has bought hasn’t been disclosed.
If Geely gets 5% Daimler shares, it will become the third largest shareholder of the luxury vehicle makers, following the Kuwait Investment Authority and BlackRock.
At the Detroit Auto Show, Dieter Zestche, chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars revealed that Daimler has had off-the-record conversations with Geely but hasn’t made any decision. Daimler welcomes the investors who are interested in long-term investment, the chairman added.
Apart from buying shares in the Germany company, Geely was said to have interest in Daimler’s electric car battery technology and aims to set up an electric car joint venter in Wuhan with Daimler, which has joint ventures with another two Chinese automakers, BAIC and BYD.
All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce, copy and use the editorial content without permission. Contact us: autonews@gasgoo.com.

Install Gasgoo APPAnytime and anywhere to know the dynamics of China's auto industry

GAC Group, Pony.ai signs strategic cooperation agreement for autonomous driving development

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC Group) today signs a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Pony.ai, a Chinese autonomous driving startup, to deploy in autonomous driving area.
According to the announcement GAC released this morning, both companies will collaborate on the development of autonomous driving solutions. Pony.ai will provide technical backing for GAC Group to boost the implementation of the automaker's autonomous driving projects. In addition, both companies will explore potential capital collaboration under mature conditions.
Meanwhile, they plans to co-build a demonstrating autonomous vehicle fleet, establish a demonstration zone of autonomous driving in Guangzhou and carry out autonomous vehicle tests.
Both parties will explore the operation modes of autonomous driving and sharing travelling as well as the potential to build mobile service platforms.
Pony.ai is a tech startup focusing on L4/L5 autonomous driving technologies with a vision to revolutionize the future of transportation by developing AI technologies. It received an autonomous vehicle testing permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles in June 2017. On January 29 this year, the startup announced that it had started China's first autonomous vehicle trial operation in Nansha District, Guangdong Province. Established in December 2016, the one-year old startup has not earned a profit yet.
All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce, copy and use the editorial content without permission. Contact us: autonews@gasgoo.com.

Install Gasgoo APPAnytime and anywhere to know the dynamics of China's auto industry

 

• 1Honda China January sales jump by 10.9% while CRV sales fall 14.4%
• 2GAC Group, Pony.ai signs strategic cooperation agreement for autonomous driving development
• 3JAC New Energy to release 5 new NEV models to take on BYD, Geely
• 4Four problems prominent in China NEV industry
• 5GAC Toyota aims to sell 500,000 units in 2018, up 13.5% year on year

 

Beijing Mercedes-Benz sees personnel change

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Li Hongpeng, former senior executive vice president of Beijing Merceds-Benz Sales Service Co., Ltd. (herein after referred to as Mercedes-Benz Sales Company) has finished his five-year tenure. He returned back to BAIC Group to take a new position on Feb. 1. In the meantime, Zhang Yan, sales management director of Merceds-Benz Sales Company will succeed Li's post.
Li Hongpeng, an auto industry's veteran with rich marvelous management capability, had handled several important administrative posts at Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. (BBAC) and Mercedes-Benz Sales Company. His had served Mercedes-Benz brand for more than ten years, and was highly regarded with his excellent performance and innovative working style. During his tenure of being senior executive vice president of Mercedes-Benz Sales Company, Li Hongpeng helped set consecutive sales record in China.
Zhang Yan, with acute market insight and rich management experience, has dedicated to promoting sales growth of Mercedes-Benz in China during his tenure of being sales management director of Merceds-Benz Sales Company. According to the revealed information, Li and Zhang will finish the job transition before Apr. 1, 2018.
All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce, copy and use the editorial content without permission. Contact us: autonews@gasgoo.com.

Install Gasgoo APPAnytime and anywhere to know the dynamics of China's auto industry

 

• 1Beijing Mercedes-Benz sees personnel change
• 2BYD secures 50% market share in Britain's battery electric bus segment
• 3FAW-VW VW brand delivers 132, 208 units in January, up 10% year on year
• 4Dongfeng Renault January sales soars 47% month on month
• 52018 Sales Target of Some Local Automakers