Short torque
Chery Jaguar Land Rover name top executives
Murray Dietsch will serve as Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Co's president and Chen Xuefeng as its vice-president, according to the joint venture between Chinese automaker Chery Automobile and British luxury brand Jaguar Land Rover.
The pair will succeed Chris Bryant and Zhu Guohua, as their contracts expire later this year. The young joint venture's first local product, the Range Rover Evoque, hit the market earlier this year and the second model Discovery Sport will be available in late 2015.
Mercedes hands over first cars to rental firm
Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales and Service held a ceremony to celebrate the first batch of vehicles handed over to China Car Experts, a leading car rental company based in Beijing, on Sept 5.
The 500-vehicle purchase order covers the full range of Mercedes-Benz product lines and is due to be complete by the end of the year. The first delivery batch of 80 vehicles included the China-produced E-Class, C-Class, GLA SUV, and GLK SUV models.
On the same day, the Mercedes-Benz and China Car Experts' football teams held a friendly football match that celebrated the handover and kick-started the beginning of a fresh partnership.
The day of events also included a traditional Chinese knot-tying ceremony to cement the relationship between Mercedes-Benz and China Car Experts.
Denza now available in Tianjin
Electric automaker Denza unveiled a new store in Tianjin on Saturday, which means its car is now available in five cities across the country. The joint venture between Chinese automaker BYD and German auto giant Daimler plans to have 11 dealerships in nine cities by the end of 2015.
Established in 2010 in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, Denza launched its first model in 2014; it has not yet provided a schedule for other models.
Electric vehicles are gaining momentum in China. A total of 68,316 units were sold in the first eight months of the year, 3.4 times the figure in the same period last year.
(China Daily 09/14/2015 page19)
