Chinese car maker Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp (BAIC) said it was reassessing the situation after a consortium it belonged to dropped a bid to buy General Motors’ Saab unit.

China’s relatively cash-rich automakers have shown an increasing interest in overseas purchases, looking to pick up global brands and technology at bargain prices as the world’s auto industry undergoes a major retrenchment.

Check out the TIMELINE that traces some of their proposed, failed or ongoing deals reported this year as the Chinese chased Volvo, Opel, Saab and Hummer.

While the U.S. and European dealers have to create tempting incentive plans to get cars off their lots, Chinese dealerships literally have waiting lists of customers who want to buy cars and are willing to take a spot in the queue. In China, only 2.9% of the population owns cars. That’s only about 38 million cars on the streets of China’s cities and villages. Compare that to the United States, where 238 million vehicles are on the road.
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The New York Times reports that the GM has agreed to sell its Hummer SUVs and trucks to the Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company Ltd., a western Chinese machinery company that would like to start making cars.

Back in 2003, when Hummers were selling like hotcakes or war rationales, corporate spokeswoman Heather Hal said this about her brand: “The folks who buy Hummer are confident, self-assured and entrepreneurial. They like the vehicle because they see in it what they see in themselves.” That is one distinct American souvenir they’ll be building.

Ford may be standing taller than General Motors in Detroit these days, but in China the tables are turned. G.M. is a powerful presence here with 8 to 10% of the market for cars, minivans and sport utility vehicles, making it the second-largest automaker in China for such vehicles, passed only by Volkswagen.

Unlike the gas guzzlers churned out by G.M.’s North American operation, the company’s China division has emphasized fuel-sipping models in the last decade. And after the government introduced a subsidy of $730 last month for vehicle buyers in rural areas, G.M.’s Wuling operation can barely build minivans fast enough.
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China’s BYD Auto said it is in talks to sell its battery products to overseas automakers as part of a bid to take a lead in the alternative energy vehicle sector. The firm is also in discussions with foreign governments regarding electric car projects.

BYD Auto is part of the BYD group, a Hong Kong-listed firm partially owned by US investment guru Warren Buffett. BYD stands for “build your dream”.

BYD Auto beat other products, such as General Motors’ Volt, when it launched F3DM, a plug-in hybrid, in China late last year. The company has said earlier the hybrid car is scheduled to go on sale in the United States and Europe in 2011. Looking forward to seeing these BYDs.

China’s auto sales hit a monthly record of 1.11 million vehicles in March, exceeding U.S. sales for the third month in a row, as tax cuts and rebates for small car purchases lured buyers back into showrooms.

The data confirmed that sales remained robust in China, the world’s second biggest auto market, despite deteriorating conditions in most major markets. China is bound to eventually overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest auto market, and recent developments have accelerated that trend.
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Chinese premier Wen Jiabao announced a crackdown on government “hospitality” budgets, including a 15% cut in car-buying and fuel funds.

Wen ordered an across-the-board halt to the building of any new office compounds before the end of 2010, or any glitzy buildings in the names of training centers, hotels, or government motels. They agreed to strictly control the government’s “hospitality” money used for receiving guests, the car-buying and fuel budgets, and officials’ overseas tours using public money.
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What’s going on with that Beetle? A Chinese car dealer covered a car in chocolate for Valentines Day. About 200kgs of melted chocolate was spread over the VW Beetle after it was first wrapped in cling film.

Seven people worked overnight to make sure the chocolate car was ready to go on display on the morning of Valentines Day. Love it! I’d drive and eat it.

Beginning today, 1 January, Beijing is implementing a plan to ban vehicles that do not meet the Euro 1 emissions standard, which was adopted in China in 1992. It took 16 years to enforce your original standard? Before the 2008 Olympic Games in April, the environmental watchdog of Beijing labeled the city’s heavy-polluting vehicles “Yellow”.

Yellow label cars will be prohibited from driving within the 5th ring road beginning 1 January, and banned within the 6th ring road beginning 1 October. Let’s hope other countries catch on to this plan soon.
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Toyota Motor Corp is recalling 121,930 cars in China to fix a problem that could result in loss of steering control.

The 54,657 Reiz and 62,517 Crown sedans were made by Toyota’s venture with FAW Group between February 2005 and October 2006. The recall comes in the wake of more bad news this week for the world’s biggest automaker which forecast a first-ever annual operating loss amid tanking global car demand. Talk about bad timing.

Beijing is aiming at avoid a US-style collapse of the local auto sector by offering incentives, such as the option for car owners to scrap their old models in favour of new ones, in a bid to lift the auto industry as it enters a period of crisis. Chinese auto sales fell 14.6% in November from a year earlier.

Other measures that China may adopt to bolster auto sales include cuts in the 10% vehicle purchase tax and easier access to car loans. Good to see others are taking action after witnessing the U.S. auto industry’s mistakes.

On the streets of today’s China there are a growing number of new icons that Mao Zedong never dreamed of, with prestigious names like Rolex, Louis Vuitton — and Buick?

Look anywhere in China and there they are: Buick sedans, Buick station wagons, even Buick police cars. The old symbols are still there: the monuments, the uniforms, even the red flag. Six decades after the communist revolution, China has become the hottest capitalist engine on earth. And ironically, some of the most revered symbols of success in today’s China are Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet.
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American-sized cars seem to be preferred in China

Buying an automobile is no longer the domain of the wealthy and Communist Party officials. As China’s middle class broadens, a car culture is burgeoning. But in some key ways, the car-buying experience is decidedly different than in the United States. Total sales of all vehicles are rising 20% per year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. General Motors Corp. sold 1.03 million cars in China in 2007.
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Dealers of imported luxury cars with big engine capacities are halting their sales and seeking higher prices before the passenger car tax rise is to finally start on Sept. 1.

Import price of cars with engine capacities of 3 to 4 liters would be increased by 13%, and 33% for those above 4 liters, as a result of the new tax, brought in to promote oil-friendly cars and reduce oil consumption.

Luxury car dealers of brands like BMW temporarily halted their sales until the tax comes into force. The tax rise would have the biggest impact on auto producers from the European Union (EU) and Japan as luxury cars mainly came from those two regions.

General Motors makes more money selling cars overseas than in the United States.

Six decades after the communist revolution, China has become the hottest capitalist engine on earth. And ironically, some of the most revered symbols of success in today’s China are Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet.

General Motors may be struggling at home, but it is thriving in China. In 2007, GM sold nearly twice as many Buicks in China as it did in the United States.
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Ford to Reveal Global Car

Ford is set to debut their global small car at the Geneva Auto Show. The joint development of the Fiesta by Ford’s European, African, Asian, American and Australian divisions marks the Fiesta as the first car to come from Ford’s global product development process. This means that there will specific models for the different markets. Sales will begin this fall in Europe, with 5 different engine options available, 3 gas and 2 diesel. The Fiesta will arrive in North America as a 2010 model, as a five door model, with the 3 door still being a possibility.

“Why do you guys give this kind of Buick to the Chinese while giving us crappy Buicks at home?”

To understand the 2008 Buick Enclave, you’ve got to understand the luxury segment of the Chinese automobile market in which Buick (as in B-U-I-C-K) is a top seller. Buick has been in China since 1912. There, it is a revered automotive badge, especially among the country’s upper-income groups who demand top quality and who hold prestige and honor they call it “face”.
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