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Porsche CSR celebrates 10 years

Porsche is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its "Empowering the Future" corporate social responsibility program in 2018. Jojo Tang, director of public relations and press of Porsche China, said the German premium carmaker will continue to implement its commitment to corporate social responsibility. She made the remarks when a piece of artwork with the theme of love and charity was unveiled in Beijing on Friday. So far Porsche China has donated 62 million yuan ($9.71 million) and 10 Cayenne SUVs, benefitting 310,000 students and 13,300 teachers, 3,600 pregnant women and 4,000 children aged 0-3 years in the country.

Mazda to roll out new energy models

Japanese carmaker Mazda said on Thursday that it will roll out new energy models specially designed for the Chinese market before 2020. China has been the world's largest new energy car market since 2015, and the sales of such cars are expected to exceed 1 million this year. Mazda said it will also introduce models with its latest naturally aspirated engine, Skyactiv-X, starting from 2019. As part of its "Sustainable Zoom-Zoom 2030", a long-term vision for technology development that looks ahead to the year 2030, Mazda said the engine will cut its fuel consumption by up to 30 percent from the current Skyactiv-G and the torque will go up by 10 percent. Mazda said it has sold 1 million cars in China with the Skyactiv series engines.

Skoda secures record sales in April

Czech car manufacturer Skoda sold 107,100 vehicles worldwide in April, up 10 percent on the same month last year. The rise is primarily driven by its sales in China, its largest market worldwide, where more than 28,000 were sold. "With the best April in the company's history, Skoda continues to write its impressive growth story," said Alain Favey, its board member for sales and marketing. "The continuing increase in demand for our vehicles proves that we are in an optimal position with our current model range. The most important drivers of the rising demand are our attractive SUV models. The recently introduced Kamiq extends the range of the SUV family in our largest single market, China. "

Continental rolls out latest SUV tire

Continental Tires has expanded its portfolio with the introduction of the UltraContact UC6 SUV in China, where SUV sales are soaring. The tire maker said the target customers are SUV drivers who need versatile tires with premium performance in safety, comfort and handling. "In recent years, we have seen phenomenal growth of the SUV market in China. Thus the launch of UltraContact UC6 SUV not only extends our Generation 6 product portfolio diversity to meet additional consumer demands in China, but also dedicates an SUV tire solution to Chinese consumers who demand all-round tire performance in any road condition," said Dalibor Kalina, general manager of Continental Tires China.

(China Daily 05/21/2018 page19)