Short Torque

SAIC GM Wuling sells 2m vehicles in 2015

SAIC GM Wuling announced on Thursday that it has produced and sold 2 million vehicles in 2015, making it the first automaker in China to achieve that in annual output and sales.

Established in 2002, SGMW is a joint venture between SAIC Motor, Liuzhou Wuling Motors and GM China.

SGMW is the market leader in the segment of mini commercial vehicles, accounting for about 60 percent of market share.

In the MPV segment, the company's Wuling Hongguang and Baojun 730 models are the two best-selling in China.

Dongfeng venture beats own top sales

Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile sold a record of 711,137 vehicles in 2015, up 1 percent year-on-year, the company said on Wednesday.

The Dongfeng Citroen accounted for 298,077 units. Dongfeng's Peugeot contributed 406,107 units with a year-on-year growth record of 6 percent. It also exported 634 vehicles. It sold 6,319 units of the Dongfeng Fengshen L60.

The company said it recorded annual growth of 60 percent in the SUV segment.

Founded in 1992, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen is a joint venture between Dongfeng Motor and PSA Peugeot Citroen.

Electric cars free of restrictions in Tianjin

Pure electric vehicles in Tianjin became exempt from vehicle restriction policies in the city on Friday, according to a notice released by the city's traffic management bureau last week.

The use of such vehicles will not be restricted as much as gas vehicles.

The bureau said the move is in response to the State Council's earlier initiative to promote the development of new-energy vehicles across the country.

Sino-Japan marque sets annual record

Sino-Japan joint venture Dongfeng Nissan said on Wednesday it set an annual sales record of 1 million passenger vehicles in 2015.

In November, the company sold 884,000 vehicles, marking 31.7 percent year-on-year growth, higher than the country's 24.6 percent increase in passenger vehicle sales the same month.

The company devised a branding strategy of "Young Nissan" at the beginning of the year. Two of its new models, the Lannia and Qashqai, had a solid market performances in 2015, the company said.

Petrol prices frozen for second time

China froze its petrol price adjustment mechanism again last week, for the second time in December.

The National Development and Reform Commission, the country's economic planner, put the mechanism in place in 2013. Since then, the price of petrol has been adjusted every 10 working days.

At the time of the last expected adjustment in mid-December, the commission said it would keep the price stable to control fast-growing oil consumption, adjust the energy structure, improve air quality and promote environmental protection.

China Daily

(China Daily 01/04/2016 page18)