Automotive

U.S. Car Exporters Get Hit by China’s New Tariffs

Dec. 16 – The Chinese government recently announced the imposition of two new tariffs on U.S. car imports, bringing higher market access thresholds to U.S. auto manufacturers.

In the “Announcement on Imposing Anti-dumping and Countervailing Measures on Imports of Certain U.S.-made Cars (MoC Announcement [2011] No.84)” issued on December 14, the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) says that, between December 15, 2011 and December 14, 2013, both anti-dumping and countervailing tariffs will apply to U.S-made passenger cars and sports utility vehicles with engine capacities of 2.5 liters and above. Continue reading →

Posted in Automotive, Business, FDI and Foreign Trade, Legal and Regulatory, Regulatory Update | Tagged BMW, China Anti-dumping Tariff, China Auto Market, China Countervailing Tariffs, China U.S. Trade Disputes, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Trade Protectionism, U.S. Automobiles, World Trade Organization | 2 Comments

Shenzhen Rolls Out New BYD E-Taxis

Photo: Rani Bongiovanni, Dezan Shira & Associates

Shenzhen BYD E6 taxi

Dec. 13 – Shenzhen has begun integrating electric vehicles into its public transport with the recent commercial introduction of local auto-maker BYD’s vehicles appearing on the city streets. An initial fleet of some 300 e-taxis are now plying the roads. Named the E6, the vehicle offers enough space for five passengers and has a range of some 160 kilometers. Plans are currently being put into place to convert all of Shenzhen’s public vehicular transport to electric – including buses and all taxis – over the next five years. Continue reading →

Posted in Automotive, Business, Markets, Oil & Petroleum, Science and Tech, South China, Technology | Tagged BYD, China Auto, China Electric Vehicles, Shenzhen, Shenzhen E-Taxi, Shenzhen Public Transportation, Warren Buffett | 1 Comment

China Stresses Measures to Boost New-energy Car Market

Nov. 14 – In a move to increase the number of green vehicles on the country’s roads, China is urging new-energy car promotions in 25 major cities. The new regulatory call will likely provide a boost to the green automobile market after the country saw an overall deceleration in car sales partly due to last month’s issuing of a tightened subsidy policy for fuel-efficient car models.

In the “Circular on Promoting the Pilot Demonstration of Fuel-efficient and New-energy Vehicles (caibanjian [2011] No.149)” issued on October 14, the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Science and Technology (MST), Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) made a joint call for the issuance of local incentives for new-energy cars. Continue reading →

Posted in Automotive, Legal and Regulatory, Regulatory Update | Tagged China Car Plate Auction, China Car Plate Lottery, China Electric Cars, China Electric Charging Posts, China Electric Charging Stations, China Hybrid, China New-energy Vehicles, China Regulatory, China Traffic Restriction, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, National Development and Reform Commission | Leave a comment

MOFCOM Ranks China’s Top Development Zones

Sept. 29 – China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) released its 2010 Rankings of National Economic and Technological Zones on September 21. At present, China has 128 national-level development zones, 90 of which were included in the 2010 MOFCOM rankings.

According to the rankings, the top 10 development zones remained unchanged from 2009. Most notably, TEDA has been ranked the best national development zone in China for the 14th consecutive year. Continue reading →

Posted in Automotive, Business, Chemical & Pharmaceutical, Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade, Manufacturing, Markets, Technology, Textiles | Tagged Development Zones, Great Wall Motors, Jiangsu Province, John Deere, Ministry of COmmerce, Motorola, TEDA | Leave a comment

China’s SAIC Motors and GM Complete Electric Car JV

Sept. 27 – General Motors (GM) recently announced a joint venture (JV) in the promising electric car market with Chinese auto giant, SAIC Motor, in what will be the 11th JV between the two industry leaders. The partnership, Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC), will constitute what’s being called “a new electric vehicle architecture” in China with GM and PATAC engineers collaborating on the development of key components and vehicle structures, according to a GM news release. Continue reading →

Posted in Automotive, Business, FDI and Foreign Trade | Tagged Chevrolet, China Joint Ventures, Economies of Scale, Electric Cars, General Motors, PATAC, Roewe, SAIC Motor | Leave a comment

Business Leaders from Indian and Chinese Automotive Industries Meet in Shanghai

By Teja Yenamandra

SHANGHAI, Mar. 11 – The Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India held a business-to-business meeting with their Chinese counterparts in the Marriott Hotel in Shanghai on Friday to discuss possible avenues of future cooperation. Over 100 top-level executives from both countries were in attendance, and Director Richard Cant of Dezan Shira & Associates, Asia Briefing’s parent firm, presented key research jointly conducted by AB and DSA on the automotive industry. Continue reading →

Posted in Automotive, Business, FDI and Foreign Trade, Featured | Leave a comment

High Speed Rail to Connect Nine South China Cities

Jan. 12 – Guangdong Province has begun work on the first stages of its ambitious high speed rail link which, when completed by 2020, will possess 10 routes and link the cities of Zhaoqing, Foshan, Jiangmen, Guangzhou, Zhongshan and Zhuhai on the western side of the Pearl River to the eastern Pearl River Delta cities of Dongguan, Shenzhen and Huizhou. The existing links from Hong Kong to Guangzhou and Shenzhen will automatically become part of this network.

The first section, the Zhuhai-Guangzhou spur was opened last week and is the first line of a 1,500 kilometer system that will provide increased inter-connectivity throughout China’s wealthiest province and the heart of its manufacturing industry. Continue reading →

Posted in Automotive, Economy and Politics, Science and Tech, South China, Technology | Leave a comment

China Auto Repair and Servicing the Big Thing for 2011

Op-Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis and Richard Hoffmann

Dec. 20 – While China’s auto market has grown in leaps and bounds fuelled by cheap credit and increasing middle class wealth, one aspect of the auto industry is strangely absent in China. There are very few auto repair and service stations.

In fact, even in car crammed cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, finding a gas station can be troublesome – the market penetration just is not there yet. Buying a car in China – and increasingly these are domestic produced models – typically comes with a three year warranty, usually arranged and organized by the dealer, who will have a service station on site just to provide warranty services to those vehicles that the specific dealership sold. However, as vehicles become older, thrift and the advent of a reliable quality, secondhand vehicle market are starting to appear in China. Continue reading →

Posted in Automotive, Business, Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade | Leave a comment