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Lamborghini sets up eco-friendly plant

Italian luxury sports carmaker Automobili Lamborghini inaugurated a new tri-generation plant last week, and was awarded CO2 neutral certification by Det Norske Veritas Germanischer Lloyd, one of the leading environmental risk management classification, verification and service companies in the world.

Located inside the Sant'Agata Bolognese factory (pictured below), the new plant produces electricity, heating and cooling using natural gas. According to the company, the plant's installed power is 1.2 megawatts and it generates about 9,800 megawatts every year. Savings in terms of emissions will total approximately 820 tons of CO2 every year.

"Sustainability is one of our company objectives and we subscribe to a strong undertaking of environmental responsibility toward our stakeholders and the area where the company operates," said Stephan Winkelmann (right in photo), president and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini.

"Lamborghini is the perfect example of how business can be done while respecting the environment. We need to think of the environment as a big opportunity for the development of business," said Gian Luca Galletti (left in photo), Italian minister for the environment, land and sea.

New draft of mini EV standards in motion

A national technology committee has begun working this month to create industrial standards for mini electric vehicles, a market that is experiencing a rapid growth in sales in China.

The China Technical Standardization Committee on Mini-Size Electric Vehicle, established on July 5, is aiming to finish a draft on the standards as well as discussions and evaluations this year.

The committee said it will launch the standards in June next year, although they will be voluntary and not compulsory regulations.

Mini pure electric cars have become popular in many second-and third-tier cities, townships and counties. More than 300,000 mini pure electric cars were sold last year, more than four times the sales number for larger new-energy vehicles.

Many of the mini electric cars are priced cheaper than 50,000 yuan ($8,200). Two mini electric car models are eligible for government subsidies this year; no models received that benefit last year.

About 36,300 units of pure electric passenger cars, not including mini electric autos, were manufactured in the first six months of the year, three times more than in the first half of 2014.

New-energy car factory being built in Tianjin

National New Energy Vehicle began construction of an auto research and production factory recently in Tianjin Binhai New Area.

The company will invest 3 billion yuan ($491.8 million) in the factory, to manufacture new-energy vehicles.

The foundation stone was laid during the opening ceremony and the facility is expected to go into service in 2017. The annual production volume is forecast to hit 200,000 units.

The company acquired some leading technology previously owned by Saab in 2012.

Chery shuts Uruguay plant, remains in Brazil

Due to the economic slowdown in Uruguay, Chery plans to close its factory built there with local partner Macri in 2008.

However, the company plans to expand its production in Brazil despite the economic crunch in Latin America.

This year the company expects to manufacture 10,000 units in Brazil.

Chery has a production park in Brazil covering 4.5 million square meters. Its investment reached $700 million, which was announced in May.

Honda recalls imported Acura MDX models

Honda has announced the recall of its 2014 and 2015 editions of the imported Acura MDX from this month.

The cars were manufactured between March 21, 2013, and Oct 15, 2014, with 2,422 units sold on the Chinese mainland.

The recall is due to flawed loose parts in the compressor of the air conditioner, which could fall and hinder normal driving.

Honda will arrange examinations and software upgrades for affected owners.

SAIC-GM recalls Buick SUVs

SAIC General Motor has announced a recall of 23,309 Buick Enclave SUVs in China because of a fault in the air spring supports to the rear hatchback door, endangering the people standing under it.

The affected vehicles are imported Buick Enclaves manufactured between August 2008 and February 2012, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement on Friday.

After long use, particles may fall into the air spring support and create insufficient air pressure, resulting in failure to keep the door fully open, the statement said.

The carmaker will upgrade the protection programs for the rear hatchback doors, and examine and repair the air spring supports.

Faulty fuel tanks prompt BMW recalls

Brilliance BMW announced a recall of all its Brilliance BMW X1 sDrive18i, X1 x Drive20i and X1 xDrive 28 models manufactured between March 19 and April 23.

A total of 4,335 vehicles were involved in the recall, according to China's quality watchdog.

The recall was due to a problematic fuel tank that could suffer from oil leaks.

The company said it would help owners replace fuel tanks accordingly.

Ford maintains sales momentum

Ford saw its sales sustain similar growth momentum as last year.

The carmaker's sales broke 500,000 units to hit 543,488 units in the first six months of this year.

Chang'an Ford sold 394,978 units, keeping up with figures from last year.

Ford Kuga, the equivalent of the Escape model in the US market, sold 65,767 units, up 4 percent year-on-year. Ford's SUV segment sold 100,000 vehicles during the first half to reach 118,719 units.

Red Dot winners announced in Germany

Winners of the prestigious Red Dot product design awards were announced in June in Germany. Eleven carmakers received Red Dot.

The Best of the Best cars and products were: Ferrari SpA's FXX K sports car, Daimler AG's Mercedes-AMG GT sports car, Mazda Motor Corp's MX-5 roadster, Volvo Car Group's XC90 SUV and Audi AG's headlamp for the Audi TT3.

Design experts of international repute make up Red Dot juries, with the composition changing every year. To avoid any conflicts of interest, the jurors may generally not be employees of the manufacturing industry.

Motoring - Agencies

(China Daily 07/13/2015 page19)