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10 million vehicles recalled in China

Sixty-eight automakers issued 152 recalls that combined involve 10.4 million cars in China in the past 10 months, said the country's top quality watchdog at a press conference on Nov 30. Of them, 45 recalls involving 8.2 million cars, accounting for 78.8 percent of the total, were prompted by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, according to spokesperson Li Jing. More than 1 million of the 10 million cars recalled were imported, including those from Volkswagen, Hyundai, Porsche, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Subaru.

Ford gives contest winners 2m yuan

Twenty-eight teams of environmental activists received 2 million yuan ($290,400) on Nov 30 as winners of the annual Ford Motor Conservation & Environmental Grants, China. The US-based automaker introduced the competition to China in 2000. Since then, it has offered more than 20 million yuan in prizes to 382 individuals and groups dedicated to environmental protection in the country. Ford China head David Schoch said the automaker will invest another 50 million yuan in its environmental protection-themed events by 2020.

Europe gets faster charging stations

Several major carmakers are planning to set up a European network for speedy charging of electric car batteries as the auto manufacturers seek to overcome customer resistance to the vehicles.

The partnership, among Volkswagen AG, BMW, Ford and Daimler AG, aims to establish "thousands" of stations along European highways by 2020, they said in a statement on Tuesday. With an initial target of about 400 sites, the group plans to start the rollout in 2017, deploying technology that will be "significantly faster" than current setups.

The rare cooperation shows the strains on carmakers as they invest billions of dollars to develop battery-powered vehicles to comply with tighter environmental regulations.

MB tops luxury car sales in US

German premium carmaker Mercedes-Benz sold the most luxury cars in the US again in November, virtually guaranteeing that it will take the full-year title from BMW.

Sales of the Mercedes GLC SUV more than tripled, while C-Class car deliveries held steady, giving the brand a 1.1 percent year-on-year increase for the month to 30,363 units. Toyota said Lexus slipped 1 percent to 29,050, and BMW reported an 18 percent drop to 26,189 units.

With one month to go, Mercedes leads Lexus by more than 18,000 units and BMW by about 28,000. A Mercedes victory for the year would recapture the crown BMW claimed in 2015 and 2014. The two German automakers have held the top spot in US luxury sales since 2011, when BMW ended Lexus's 11-year reign.

VW sales rally after 2015 scandal

Volkswagen brand sales in the US climbed 24 percent in November, the first gain in more than a year, as Europe's biggest automaker emerged from a sales slump triggered by the emissions-cheating scandal revealed in September 2015.

The brand sold 29,672 vehicles in November, compared with 23,882 a year earlier. It was the first monthly increase since October 2015.

Analysts had predicted deep discounts and promotions would help Volkswagen halt its yearlong sales decline in the US. The German automaker agreed to pay an industry-record $16.5 billion in civil litigation fines in the US after admitting last year that its diesel models were outfitted with a "defeat device" that filtered exhaust only when cars were being tested.

Inventory healthy in November

Chinese auto dealers' inventory levels in November was 1.6 percentage points lower than the month before, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association.

The association's Vehicle Inventory Alert Index was 49.9 percent in November, hovering just below the alert level of 50 percent.

Lang Xuehong, the association's deputy secretary-general, said the figure shows the positive trend in the market so far has not changed.

The index is based on a survey of more than 1,000 authorized stores in China that sell 55 brands of vehicles, both Chinese and foreign.

(China Daily 12/05/2016 page18)