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Auto support renewed

China is to continue the incentive measures for its booming auto industry throughout 2010, with a number of small refinements. The measures, which were due to expire at the end of this month, includes a purchase tax cut from 10 percent to 5 percent for vehicles with an engine capacity of 1.6 liters or less and subsidies for trade-in cars.

This measure will be extended to the end of next year. However, the purchase tax will be increased from the current 5 percent to 7.5 percent. In addition, the government is to raise the subsidy for trade-in cars from between 3,000 and 6,000 yuan to between 5,000 and 18,000 yuan per car.

GM doubles monthly sales

General Motors' China sales doubled to a new monthly record of 177,339 vehicles in November compared to a year ago. The robust sales figure included 78,777 units from its passenger car tie-up with SAIC Motor Co Ltd, 89,636 units from its micro bus venture with SAIC and the Wuling Motor Corp, and 8,720 units from a light commercial vehicle partnership with the FAW Group Corp.

In the first 11 months of this year, General Motors shifted almost 1.64 million vehicles in China, an increase of 64 percent year-on-year.

Export and imports slump

Both veshicle exports and imports in China plunged in the first 10 months of this year, a direct result of the world's financial woes.

The country exported 285,300 vehicles during the period, down 53.1 percent compared to a year earlier. Vehicle export values tumbled by 51.5 percent to US$4.1 billion. China's vehicle imports declined by 10.8 percent to 305,300 units.

Aston Martin 4S opens

The British premium sports car producer, Aston Martin, recently opened its world's largest 4S (sales, spare parts, services and survey) center in Beijing to access China's fast-growing premium car market.

The 4S center, located in northeastern Beijing, includes a 600-sqm showroom and a 1,800-sqm maintenance area which has the capacity for repairing 12 Aston Martin cars simultaneously. The carmaker will also open a 500-sqm showroom in downtown Beijing at the beginning of next year. The company now markets the DBS, DB9, V8 Vantage, V12 Vantage and Rapide on the Chinese mainland.

Niassn plays green card

The Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor Co recently held a technology briefing in Beijing to introduce its most advanced technology for traditional and new-energy vehicles across both its Nissan and Infiniti brands.

With a commitment to becoming a global leader in the zero-emission mobility sector, Nissan also previewed its electric vehicle (EV) Cube EV in China in a test drive capacity. As part of the Nissan Green Plan (NGP) 2010, the company plans to decrease its average CO2 emissions by 10 percent in 2050 compared to 2000.

Nissan is committed to being a global leader in zero-emission mobility. The company announced earlier this year that it plans to launch its first EV in China in 2011.

Motoring

(China Daily 12/14/2009 page7)