Short Torque

China Daily | Updated: 2016-05-09 07:52

GM sales grow 7.5% in April year-on-year

Sales of General Motors in China grew by 7.5 percent year-on-year to 277,979 units in April. The Buick brand sold 98,992 cars in the month, a surge of 56 percent from a year earlier. Sales of GM's luxury brand Cadillac rose by 13 percent to 7,007 units in April. In the first four months of this year, China sales of GM edged up by 1.7 percent to 1.24 million units.

Ford Motor sales slump 11% in last month

Ford Motor sold 82,324 vehicles in China in April, down 11 percent from the same period last year. Sales of its biggest joint venture in China, Changan Ford, also dropped by 11 percent to 58,802 units last month. From January to April this year, Ford's China sales grew by 7 percent to 391,294 units from a year earlier. Meanwhile, Changan Ford moved 303,213 vehicles, jumping 14 percent.

Peugeot and Infiniti announce recalls

Sino-French joint venture Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen plans to recall 24,562 units of the Peugeot 408 and 308s models produced between Nov 8, 2014, and March 18, 2015, due to potential flaws of triangle arms. The recall will begin on May 16. Nissan Motor and its joint venture in China Dongfeng Motor Co will also start to recall 57,648 units of the locally made Infiniti Q50L and QX50 as well as the imported Infiniti 50 and QX60 on Sept 20 due to faulty airbags.

Great Wall tops list for executive salaries

Among 21 carmakers listed on bourses in China who filed their annual reports, Great Wall Motors paid the highest amount to its senior executives last year.

Wei Jianjun, chairman of the board of Great Wall Motors, ranked first with his annual income of 5.7 million yuan ($875,750), followed by Wang Fengying, the company's deputy chairman and general manager, at 5.5 million yuan in 2015, according to local media reports.

The Chinese maker of SUVs paid a total of 31.2 million yuan to its executives, second only to Hong-Kong listed BYD Co. BYD's payroll also covers its management teams in its energy division.

Golf Sportsvan makes internet debut

The Golf Sportsvan, locally produced by FAW-Volkswagen, was launched through an internet ceremony on Friday.

The new model, a merging of an MPV and a hatchback, provides more room for both passengers and luggage and is 83 mm longer than the Golf. The 500-liter trunk may expand to 1,520 liters after the back seats are laid flat.

Retailed between 131,900 yuan ($20,299) and 197,900 yuan, it has four powertrain options: the 1.6-liter, the 1.2-liter turbocharged 180TSI, the 1.4-liter turbocharged 230TSI and the 280TSI. Transmission options include a five-speed manual, six-speed auto and seven-speed Direct Shift Gearbox.

Motoring

(China Daily 05/09/2016 page19)