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New head for auto makers association

FAW's deputy general manager Wu Shaoming will replace Dong Yang as secretary-general of the Chinese Association of Automobile Manufacturers, according to the Auto Business Review.

The move came within a month of FAW appointing Wu to head up its premium passenger brand Hongqi. Dong, who is 59 years old, will retire next year in accordance with regulations in China.

In its early days, FAW manufactured Hongqi sedans for State leaders. There was great expectation for Hongqi sedans to make a comeback. The Hongqi H7 hit the market in May 2013 but sales have been sluggish, with less than 3,000 units sold in 2014.

Chrysler announces more China recalls

US automaker Chrysler is making additional recalls of vehicles sold in China. A total of 11,088 imported Grand Cherokee SUVs manufactured between Sept 17, 2010 and Aug 19, 2013 were recalled on Sunday.

The automaker said springs in the oil pump relay of the integrated power unit might deform when overheated, which could mean the engine will not start or stop.

Chrysler said it would solve this problem by installing an additional relay outside the integrated power unit.

Geely performance hits 5-year high

China's Geely Auto generated sales revenue of 1.38 billion yuan ($220 million) in the first half of 2015, a 36 percent surge year-on-year, according to its interim financial report.

The report shows that the automaker's net profit reached 1.4 billion yuan in the period, soaring 26 percent year-on-year, and its gains per share stood at 0.15 yuan, a 26 percent increase year-on-year.

Despite the slowdown in the Chinese auto market, Geely sold 234,000 vehicles in the first half of 2015, a 50 percent rise from the same period last year.

It sold 17,900 vehicles in overseas markets, a 48.1 percent slump, which it attributed to fluctuations in the exchange rate of the Chinese yuan against currencies in its destination markets as well as political and economic situations in those countries.

BAIC sets up US research center

BAIC Motor has established a research facility dedicated to new-energy vehicles in Silicon Valley in the United States. The facility employs 20 engineers and is planning to roll out four to six models each year.

BAIC hopes the research center will help China's new-energy vehicle sales in overseas markets. The automaker plans to have annual production of 200,000 new-energy vehicles by 2020, with 30 percent of them sold in global markets.

BAIC is now the largest shareholder of US electric car designer Atieva. It is reported that the first model that BAIC is working on with Atieva will make its debut at the Beijing Auto Show in 2016.

Motoring

(China Daily 08/31/2015 page18)