Local market No 1 for Citroen

China has become French brand Citroen's largest market by sales, said the company's Chinese operation. Its Chinese joint venture Dongfeng Citroen sold 137,000 vehicles in the first half of this year. Citroen's market share in the country has risen from 3.3 percent two years ago to 4 percent at present. The company hopes to sell 750,000 vehicles annually by 2015, thereby achieving a 5 percent share.

Dongfeng looks to boost exports

Dongfeng plans to become one of the top three Chinese exporters by 2016, according to the company. By that time, it aims to deliver 300,000 units yearly. In the first half of this year, it exported 37,995 vehicles. From January to June, it sold 1.71 million units, making it the second-largest automaker in the country by unit sales. Its revenue totaled 209.6 billion yuan in the period.

Bentley approved to develop SUV model

Bentley was recently approved by its parent Volkswagen Group to begin developing a premium SUV. To be made at a factory in the British city of Crewe, the SUV will come in two engine variants -V8 and W12. It will go on sale in 2016, with prices to start at 200,000 euros ($264,000). Volkswagen said Bentley will invest more than 800 million euros to develop the SUV and other new models in the next three years.

NBS: Auto industry most profitable

A recent report released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that auto manufacturing is not the largest industrial sector in China, but it generated the most profit. It found that the industry's total profit reached 232.7 billion yuan in the first half, increasing 20 percent year-on-year and topping all 41 industrial sectors. The auto industry ranked fourth in terms of business revenue.

Toyota's numbers remain tepid

Toyota reported a 3.5 percent year-on-year decrease in July sales in China, which is partly due to the poor performance of its Camry sedan. Its SUVs remain good sellers. In the first seven months, the carmaker's sales in China totaled 492,500 units, a decline of 5.4 percent from a year ago. The company aims to deliver 900,000 vehicles this year.

Changhe may split from parent firm

Domestic media recently reported that Jiangxi-based Changhe Auto plans to separate from its current parent Chang'an Automobile Group. Chang'an acquired Changhe in 2009 from its former owner AVIC, but the merger has been far from smooth.According to the reports, the Jiangxi provincial government wants Changhe to cooperate with Jiangling Motors, a carmaker in the same province, after the possible separation.

Motoring

(China Daily USA 08/05/2013 page16)