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Honda, Acura sales hit record in H1

The Japanese auto brand registered a historical performance in the first half of this year in China. Honda's total sales volume totaled 644,167 vehicles in the country, jumping 18.7 percent when compared with the same period last year. Both of Honda's Chinese ventures fueled the record with their surging volumes. Dongfeng Honda's sales shot up with 25.8 percent growth year-on-year to 313,343 vehicles. GAC Honda sold 330,824 Honda-branded vehicles in the period, up 12 percent. Sales of the premium Acura brand rocketed 442 percent to 6,500 vehicles, thanks to the first localized SUV model Acura CDX.

US auto sales fall for 6 straight months

United States auto sales fell 3 percent last month. It was the sixth straight monthly decline as sales dropped off last year's record pace. For the first six months, car and truck sales fell 2.1 percent, the first such decrease since the financial crisis in 2009. But auto executives and industry analysts say it is no cause for panic. Sales remain strong and are not expected to plunge anytime soon. Plus, buyers are still loading out the truck and SUV sectors with high-priced options, and that is likely to boost earnings, at least in Detroit.

VW returns to Iran after 17-year absence

Volkswagen said its flagship brand is returning to Iran after a 17-year absence. The Wolfsburg-based carmaker said in a statement Tuesday it will start selling Tiguan SUVs and Passat sedans through importer Mammut Khodro. Mammut Khodro is already selling trucks made by Volkswagen Group's Scania division. Volkswagen began selling vehicles, including the classic Beetle, in Iran in the 1950s but withdrew in 2000. Volkswagen said that restarting exports offers the company a chance to get to know local market conditions and reestablish the Volkswagen brand. It cited Iranian government estimates of a car market with 3 million new vehicle sales per year.

Tesla Model 3 sales start on July 28

Tesla's CEO says the first Model 3 electric car for the masses should be delivered in late July. The company plans to hold a party to hand over the first 30 Model 3 cars to customers on July 28. Elon Musk said on Twitter that the new car passed all regulatory requirements for production to begin two weeks ahead of schedule. The Model 3 is to start around $35,000. With a $7,500 federal tax credit, it could cost $27,500. The car is Tesla's first attempt at true mass production. The company has had trouble hitting production deadlines on previous cars.

Volvo goes electric, ditches fossil fuels

Volvo Car Group plans to build only electric and hybrid vehicles starting in 2019, making it the first major automaker to abandon the solely combustion engine. The group will launch five fully electric cars between 2019 and 2021. Three of them will be Volvo models and two will be electrified cars from Polestar, its performance car arm. It also plans to offer a range of hybrids as options on all models. Volvo expects to reach its target of selling 1 million electrified cars by 2025, with a range of models, including fully electric vehicles and hybrid cars.

GM regains crown as Tesla shares slump

General Motors regained its spot as the biggest United States carmaker by market capitalization, amid greater investor skepticism that chipped away at rival Tesla Motors. GM had a market capitalization of $52.6 billion, about $1.9 billion more than the electric carmaker, which had overtaken GM in April.

Motoring - Agencies

(China Daily 07/10/2017 page19)