Short Torque

Mercedes-Benz names new sales and operations head

Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co Ltd appointed Mao Jingbo to head sales and operations of its smart and AMG divisions, according to sources. Mao will take over on May 1 and report to the company's president and CEO Nicholas Speeks. Mao has served as general manager of the company's North China region since 2013. Mao joined Mercedes-Benz in 2007.

LeEco signs deals with 3 Chinese carmakers

Chinese Internet company LeEco, formerly LeTV Holdings Co Ltd, has signed agreements with three Chinese automakers - BAIC Motor, BYD and Dongfeng Motor - to install its connected-car system "ecolink" in selected models.

LeEco will unveil a car at the Beijing International Auto Show that opens next month and launch a new connected-car system with BYD. LeEco's auto connectivity division has established a globalized structure, with its headquarters based in Beijing and its innovation center, integration center and R&D center located in different parts of the globe.

LeEco also announced that Ni Kai, hailed as one of China's pioneers of driverless cars, has joined its smart driving department. Ni was a senior scientist at tech giant Baidu's Institute of Deep Learning and head of the Baidu's driverless R&D team.

Nation to boost NEVs in public transport

The number of new-energy vehicles in the public transport sector will grow to 200,000 units by 2020, said Liu Xiaoming, an official at the Ministry of Transport.

Liu said at the recently concluded two sessions that the new-energy vehicle sector has seen rapid development in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing and Jinan, adding that more than 50,000 new-energy buses have been put into operation.

New-energy vehicles are gaining momentum in China. Sales of plug-in hybrids through the first two months totaled 10,900 units, a 68.5 percent rise year-on-year, and 24,835 electric cars were sold in the same period, up 314 percent year-on-year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

New policies to spur secondhand car trades

The Ministry of Commerce is slated to promulgate policies aimed at stimulating secondhand car trading, said spokesman Shen Danyang at a news conference on March 17. He said the policies would also help phase out old cars and boost sales of new ones.

Premier Li Keqiang said China will encourage the development of the secondhand car market in his government work report delivered at the recently concluded two sessions.

The Ministry of Commerce estimates that about 36 million used cars are expected to be traded each year considering that China's new car sales stood at 24 million units last year. Less than 10 million used cars were sold in 2015.

(China Daily 03/21/2016 page19)