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Nation becomes 2nd-largest auto insurance market

China has become the world's second-largest market for auto insurance, according to a report by the Insurance Association of China last week.

The report said car insurance premiums in the country surged 16.84 percent to 551.6 billion yuan ($85.1 billion) in 2014, accounting for 73.12 percent of all property insurance.

The association said vehicle ownership in China reached 251 million units by the end of 2013, 137 million of which were privately owned.

By the end of 2013, 120 million vehicles were insured, with the number of vehicle owners being insured growing to 87.34 percent compared to 64.4 percent in 2007.

Five automakers recall vehicles in China in Nov

Dongfeng Motor plans to recall 20,038 units of Venucia R30 from Dec 31 due to problems with the windshield wiper.

The affected vehicles were produced from June 6, 2014, to Sept 19, 2015.

Mitsubishi Motors will recall 10,448 units of its Mitsubishi ASX, its locally made SUV model, beginning on Wednesday. The automaker said a lack of primer paint could force the roof window to fall off. The recalled models were produced from Sept 26, 2012, to March 25, 2015.

Ferrari recalled 18 units of its 488 GTB and California T models from Dec 11 due to safety hazards created by low-pressure pipelines.

The affected models were made between Sept 8 and Nov 12.

From Dec 11, Maserati recalled 14 GranTurismo produced between Aug 7 and Aug 27 due to the increased risk of accident caused by a weak right-side door lock.

From Dec 11, Mazda recalled 3,229 units of its model CX-5 made from April 18 to Dec 24, 2012, because of problems with the steering wheel.

VW wins approval to bring diesel engines to standard

Volkswagen AG won regulatory approval for plans on Dec 16 to fix 8.5 million diesel engines in Europe that are equipped with software and can cheat emissions tests. It is one of the automaker's first moves to start resolving a scandal that has hurt sales since September.

The recall program, scheduled to start early next year, applies to 1.2-liter, 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter engines, and the German clearance extends across the European Union's 28 national markets, the Wolfsburg-based carmaker said in a statement on Wednesday. The 1.2-liter and 2.0-liter engines need only a software upgrade, while the 1.6-liter engine will also require installation of a piece of mesh to regulate air flow.

Country halts program that controls petrol pricing

China will temporarily halt a program that adjusts the price of petrol, said the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's economy planning body, last week.

The commission said the price for petrol will remain stable and that it will adjust the structure of its energy industries, promote environmental protection and improve air quality.

Beijing No 95 gasoline, the best quality petrol in the country, has cost 6.04 yuan (93 cents) per liter since the beginning of the month, slightly cheaper than last month's rate of 6.16 yuan.

motoring - Bloomberg

(China Daily 12/21/2015 page18)