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Acura launches CDX sport utility vehicle

The first-ever China-made Acura has been launched in the domestic market. The company says luxury sport utility vehicle CDX is in line with global quality standards and comes in five variants. The suggested retail price ranges from 229,800 yuan ($34,561) to 309,800 yuan.

The new model is powered by a 134 kW 1.5-liter turbocharged engine, matched with an 8-speed dual clutch gearbox for fuel economy and driving pleasure. Fundamental maintenance and road rescue services are provided for free to owners for four years or 100,000 km.

The car is localized to meet Chinese customers' demands and it features all-new design concepts, according to the company.

The automaker expects to realize a sales volume exceeding 10,000 units in the remaining five months of 2016.

Luxury carmaker expands sales network in China

Automobili Lamborghini's biggest dealership in China, Lamborghini Beijing South, opened on Friday, bringing its total number of dealerships on the Chinese mainland to 15.

The Italian luxury sports car manufacturer said the continuous expansion of the dealership network exemplifies its great expectations for the Chinese market.

Andrea Baldi, general manager of Automobili Lamborghini Asia-Pacific, said the automaker delivered 2,013 cars worldwide in the first six months of the current fiscal year, setting a new sales record for the company.

Baldi said Lamborghini would not have achieved the sales performance without the support of Chinese customers, although he did not release the company's Chinese sales figures. Lamborghini has sold more than 1500 cars in China since its arrival in 2005.

Takata airbag fault sparks recall

China's quality watchdog last week announced another batch of automobile recalls owing to faulty Takata airbags, involving a total of 845,761 units of Mazda-branded cars.

FAW Mazda and Mazda China filed the recall to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, specifying that the airbags run the risk of ejecting shell fragments upon inflation, which could result in injury to those inside the vehicle.

The recall was carried out following the administration's recent talks with FAW Car Co Ltd. The recalled products include 822,560 locally manufactured Mazda 6 sedans, and 22,740 domestically made Mazda 8 multi-purpose vehicles, and 461 imported RX-8 sports cars..

The number of cars recalled in China reached a record high of 6 million in the first half of this year, more than the total for all of last year.

Motoring

(China Daily 08/01/2016 page19)