Short Torque

Parallel imports coming to Beijing

Consumers in Beijing will be able to buy parallel-import cars, which are directly imported from manufacturers and sold by independent dealers at a markedly lower price than franchise dealers, from mid April or May.

Parallel-import vehicles will be under the same warranty, recall and investigation policies as vehicles sold by authorized dealers. Compared with other dealers, parallel-import cars are expected to be 15 to 20 percent cheaper.

Focus on more charging facilities

Industry and Information Technology Minister Miao Wei said at the annual session of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, that the ministry will boost the development of charging facilities for new-energy vehicles in the pilot cities this year.

Miao said China produced 84,000 new-energy vehicles last year, four times the total output of the past five years.

He added that China encouraged more innovations on electric vehicles to create new manufacturing models for the industry.

Beijing Hyundai factory set to start

Beijing Hyundai's fourth factory in Cangzhou, Hebei province, is expected to start production on April 1, according to the 21st Century Business Herald.

Beijing Hyundai motor Co Ltd is a joint venture between the Beijing Automotive Group and South Korea's Hyundai Motor Company.

The planned annual production capacity in the new factory is expected to hit 400,000 units.

The company's two popular low-end models Verna and IX35 will be produced in the new factory.

Ministry issues repair industry draft

The Ministry of Transport issued a draft of the government's plan to manage the vehicle maintenance and repair industry, to seek public opinion recently.

The draft says the monopoly of auto part supply channels should be broken and that vehicle manufacturers need to publish their vehicle maintenance and repair technical information.

In the future, consumers are expected to have more options on after-sales maintenance and repair. This is expected to bring to an end the long monopoly auto companies have held over the after-sales service and maintenance market.

Tesla to cut about 200 jobs in China

Tesla plans to cut its staff in China by 30 to 50 percent, about 200 positions, on direct orders from the company headquarters in the United States, Beijing-based Chinese newspaper China Times reported.

The company's CEO Elon Musk said Tesla's sales in China are "unexpectedly weak".

China Times said that Tesla's cutbacks in China will be across all ranks of employee, including senior executives.

Last year only 3,500 Tesla cars were sold in the country although 4,800 units were imported.

(China Daily 03/09/2015 page18)