Following hard on the heels of this week’s news of record car sales in China come reports that China’s smog-bound and choking cities are taking the first steps to control air pollution by restricting new car sales. With more than 200 cities with populations in excess of 1 million, manufacturers are not getting worried yet and it will not prove a major problem to their business plans.
Who would have guessed that a few short years ago?
Amidst all of the doom and gloom about Asian slowdowns and stagnant world economic growth, car sales have soared in China this year with sales for passenger vehicles last month climbing the most since January. The reported recovery in economic growth is thought to have contributed to a 20.3% jump to 1.6 million units in October, beating industry experts’ forecast of 1.5 million units as reported by the state controlled CCTV English edition.
Guest writer, Lily, makes a confession about something that most of us are guilty of.
In an announcement this week, Dongfeng, China’s second largest auto manufacturer, has announced the creation of a JV with Germany’s Getrag Group, the world’s largest independent manufacturer of transmissions. Based in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the JV is a 50:50 arrangement between the 2 companies and will involve an investment of USD165 million to set up for the first phase alone.
Automology’s Philippines correspondent, HAROLD, takes a closer look at what once was the leading car brand in the country.
Nissan is a leading brand in many major markets around the world. It is the number 1 Japanese Brand in China with a projected 1.2 million vehicle sale this year (Toyota will get 900k). It is among the top selling brands in the USA. It used to be number 1 in the Philippines for passenger car sales (Nissan Sentra) and low end sedans (Nissan Exalta) in the 90s. Today, Nissan is at the bottom of the list of Top 10 Car Brands Sold in the Philippines. It has been overtaken by Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Honda, Isuzu and Ford (Toyota being the consistent number 1). What happened? And will it be able to regain its lost glory in the Philippines?
Guest writer, Lily, has her own take about what qualifies as a revolution and an evolution in the automobile industry.