Short Torque

Forum VIPs to travel in Mercedes

Duan Jianjun (right), chief operating officer of sales and marketing at Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service, hands over the keys to 30 S-Class sedans to Fang Jin, deputy secretary-general of China Development Research Foundation. The sedans will serve as the exclusive guest limousines for the 2019 China Development Forum to be held on March 23-25. It is the third time in a row that Mercedes-Benz is the exclusive guest limousine provider for the event. This year the forum has "Greater Opening-up for Win-win Cooperation" as its theme. The event attracts senior officials, scholars and business delegates to share their views on topics including high-quality development, fiscal and taxation policies reform, further opening-up as well as innovation and future development.

Corolla plug-in hybrid launched

Sino-Japanese joint venture FAW Toyota has launched its Corolla plug-in hybrid; their first new energy vehicle in China. The model, with four variants, is priced between 211,800 yuan and 234,800 yuan ($31,500-$35,000). The sedan has a fuel consumption of 1.3 liter/100 km. In the electric mode, it can run up to 55 km. Toyota boasts advanced hybrid technology, with its first mass-produced Prius rolling out in 1997. Tian Qingjiu, general manager of FAW Toyota Motor Sales, said the Corolla plug-in hybrid is the latest move of Toyota's electrification strategy in China. FAW Toyota plans to introduce its first wholly electric vehicle into China in 2020.

Lincoln store opens in Shanghai

Ford's premium arm, Lincoln, unveiled its first global flagship store last week in Shanghai. The store is the result of Lincoln's "China First, Customer First" strategy, said Mao Jingbo, president of Lincoln Asia Pacific and Lincoln China. She said more measures will follow to offer services and experiences that surpass customer expectations and pave the way for long-term development in China. Lincoln is planning to start production in China, with the first model expected to roll off the assembly line later this year. It sold 55,315 vehicles in China in 2017, up 2.2 percent year-on-year.

Honda recalls more than 1 million cars

On Tuesday, Japanese carmaker Honda recalled about 1.2 million vehicles in North and Central America. Models from 2001 to 2016 need inflators replaced. They had not been included in the string of Takata recalls for air bags that can hurl shrapnel into the car. Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion and inflate air bags in a collision. But the chemical can deteriorate when exposed to high temperatures and humidity and blow apart a metal canister, spewing out shrapnel. At least 23 people have been killed by the company's inflators and hundreds more injured.

(China Daily 03/18/2019 page19)