Chinese Industry News

[dr_spock]

NHTSA 15-07
Wednesday, September 12, 2007    Contact: Heather Hopkins
Telephone: (202) 366-9550
NHTSA Signs Cooperative Agreement with China on Auto Safety

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to strengthen the relationship between the two countries in the area of motor vehicle safety and to improve enforcement standards.

“We are strengthening the lines of communication and cooperation to improve the safety of vehicles and automotive equipment in both our countries,” said NHTSA Administrator Nicole R. Nason. “This agreement will also help us to better enforce our standards.”

The bilateral arrangement, formally signed between NHTSA and China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), sets out a range of cooperative goals, including developing safety standards for automotive equipment and enforcing those standards. The MOC also encourages developing and disseminating consumer information, developing and sharing automotive safety research and sharing efforts on improving vehicle fuel economy.

After a signing ceremony at the Department of Transportation headquarters in Washington, DC, the Chinese delegation and NHTSA officials exchanged information on requirements and procedures used in both countries to ensure compliance with automotive safety standards, as well as the processes involved in conducting safety investigations and recalling vehicles and motor vehicle equipment.


http://www.nhtsa.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/template.MAXIMIZE/menuitem.f2217bee37fb302f6d7c121046108a0c/?javax.portlet.tpst=1e51531b2220b0f8ea14201046108a0c_ws_MX&javax.portlet.prp_1e51531b2220b0f8ea14201046108a0c_viewID=detail_view&itemID=e76366ae805f4110VgnVCM1000002fd17898RCRD&viewType=standard&pressReleaseYearSelect=2007

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Chery cars in N.A. are unlikely before 2010

Bradford Wernle
Automotive News
October 22, 2007 - 12:01 am ET   

 
 
Chrysler LLC will get its small cars from its partnership with Chinese automaker Chery Automobile Co.

Yin Tongyao, Chery's top global executive, has said Chery is several years away from making cars for North America Yin said Chery will start by building a version of its A1 small car in Latin America for Chrysler, probably in 2009.

In 2010 or 2011, Chrysler may begin importing a small car to North America that would be developed jointly with Chery. But Yin admitted that Chery has many hurdles to clear before the car will pass tough safety and emission standards in North America and Europe.

There also is some question how much design input Chrysler will provide. Bu two popular Chrysler concepts, the Dodge Hornet and Demon, have been ruled out.

The dimensions for the front-wheel-drive Hornet concept are thought to be too wide for an fwd Chery vehicle platform. And little talk of the two-passenger, rwd Demon concept has been heard since Cerberus Capital Management LP bought 80.1 percent of Chrysler in August.

[safristi]

..some parents are gonna be furious when their daughters Chery gets busted.................   CALL C eh Eh!!!

[Allen]

Chinese cars headed for Canada at cut-rate prices
GREG KEENAN

From Monday's Globe and Mail

January 14, 2008 at 2:23 AM EST

DETROIT — Two Chinese companies are planning to sell cars and trucks in Canada next year and promising rock-bottom prices in a move that will ratchet up the already fierce competition in the Canadian market.

Representatives of China America Cooperative Automotive Inc. (Chamco) and Geely Holdings Group said Sunday at the Detroit auto show that they plan to sell vehicles in Canada in 2009, with Chamco claiming an ambitious sales target of 15,000 vehicles.

A pickup truck and a sport-utility vehicle will be sold by Chamco at prices 20-per-cent lower than similar models now on the market, chief executive officer William Pollack said Sunday. Prices will start at the equivalent of about $13,500 (U.S.).

"Quality, style and price," will enable the auto maker to meet those goals, Mr. Pollack said.

Chamco will sell vehicles manufactured by Hebei Zhongxing Automobile Co. Ltd., starting with operations in the United States, where tests to meet safety and other regulatory standards are under way.

Sales will begin in the United States this year and in Canada early next year, he said, disputing the notion that the cars might have trouble meeting rigid North American safety standards.

"They're in 52 different countries," Mr. Pollack said in an interview at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit where he was flanked by the pickup truck and sport-utility vehicle that he said will go on sale in Canada in early 2009.

"They've been road-tested in some of the most brutal climates on the planet."

The company has already begun showing the vehicles to Canadian dealers but the cars can't be brought into Canada until they meet Canadian standards.

Geely, meanwhile, is showing off its FC compact car and the TX4 model, which looks like a London taxi.

Chinese auto makers have their biggest presence yet at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. There are five Chinese companies showing vehicles here.

But other auto makers are also turning to China to supply North America.

Chrysler has signed a deal with Chery Motors to make a subcompact that also is expected to go on sale in Canada and the United States next year.

"Chery's going to be a big play for us," Chrysler president Tom LaSorda told reporters. The auto maker does not offer a subcompact now in Canada and the United States, which has hurt its sales in both countries because higher gas prices have sent Canadians and Americans scrambling to buy smaller cars.

Canadians are much more likely to see a Chinese-built car from Chrysler than they are to see Chinese companies selling their own vehicles in Canada, said industry analyst Dennis DesRosiers, president of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. of Richmond Hill, Ont.

A more realistic assessment of the Chinese companies' prospects is that they are five years away from North American sales, Mr. DesRosiers said.

"They don't have the fit, finish and quality that would pass muster for North America," he said.

Canadians have reacted cautiously in recent years to new entries in the vehicle market. Japanese auto maker Mitsubishi is the most recent entrant and it has had trouble gaining more than 1 per cent of the Canadian market of about 1.6 million vehicles annually.

South Korea-based Kia Motors has had similar difficulties, although it outsells Mitsubishi.

Both companies have been hampered in part by the experience of Hyundai in Canada in the 1980s, which enjoyed a raging success in its first years here with the cheap Pony.

But the quality of the vehicles was spotty and Hyundai still struggles to some degree to overcome the perception that its cars aren't as reliable as other long-established names in the market.

But Richard Cooper, executive director of the Canadian operations of consulting firm J.D. Power and Associates, said the Chinese auto makers should be taken seriously.

"There'll be a healthy skepticism on the part of consumers at first, but I think [the companies] will work hard to change those perceptions," Mr. Cooper said.

Cheap and unattractive

Like a nation of high school head bangers, Canada appears to have an affinity for cheap cars with questionable looks. Over the years, some affordable compact cars have been bestsellers, as drivers went crazy for boxy, two-door, wood-panelled rides, while others models are perhaps best forgotten.

Yugo

The Yugoslavian brand was sold in the U.S. from 1985 to 1991, with a price tag beginning at $3,990. But, like other things that come cheap, the Yugo had something of a reputation problem. In the late 1980s, a Yugo driven by a young woman was blown off a Michigan bridge. In 2007, it was declared the second-ugliest car of all time, behind the Pacer, in a survey of car collectors. One collector described it as "a car that fell apart while you drove."

Hyundai

A whole company built on the idea of affordable cars, Hyundai has created a surprise empire on the low-budget end of the automobile industry, along with its sister brand, Kia.

Skoda

Was it really a good idea to buy a car from a company that started off making bicycles? With models known as the "poor man's Porsche," this Czech brand was bought by Volkswagen in 1991 and underwent something of a transformation. But this ugly duckling of the automobile industry had a hard time shaking its past: One marketing campaign featured the tag line, "It is a Skoda, honest."

Chevette

The best-selling small car in the U.S. in 1979 and 1980 is perhaps known for its Woody model, which featured simulated wood panelling. In 1986, GM announced it was dropping the price of the Chevette to $4,995 (U.S.), but soon ceased production. The car is now relegated to the wistful fantasies of aging band geeks.

Yaris

A Toyota brand launched in 1999 and known as Vitz in Japan, the Yaris built its popularity in Canada through a kitschy marketing campaign likening the car to a bizarre Eastern European man. The automotive equivalent of Borat is a popular choice with young car buyers.

[Scaerio]

Keenan's comment about Skoda's roots as a bicycle manufacturer are very ignorant.  Toyota was created as a division of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works.  Suzuki also grew from an automated loom company.

[safristi]

 LOOM LOOM.....pre Mazda eh!!!

[barrie1]

I wonder if Toyota ever warrantied their bicycles any better then their vehicles as I would be surprised if they did. 

[ovr50]

I wonder if Toyota ever warrantied their bicycles any better then their vehicles as I would be surprised if they did. 

Your continual attacks on Toyota and other Japanese makers do get tiresome after while, Barrie, and add zero to this site. We all know you hate Japanese automakers, now improve your standing on here by giving it a rest.

I can add the smiley too, but neither yours nor mine are sincere.