Frost & Sullivan’s Automotive and Transportation Practice South Asia and Middle East (http://www.transportation.frost.com) will host an Analyst Briefing – Webinar on, Wednesday, 25 April, 2007, titled “Immense Opportunities for 3PL Market in Indian Auto Components Sector†between 11 am and 12 noon Indian Standard Time (GMT + 5.5 hrs). Continue reading Auto Components Sector earned revenues of US$172.0mn in 06
Car enthusiasts are being treated to a display of nearly 900 car models at the ongoing 2007 Shanghai International Auto Exhibition. Over 1,300 exhibitors from more than 20 countries are at the car show. Continue reading Local brands in spotlight at Shanghai Auto Show
Auto companies are trying to persuade Chinese consumers to spend money they don’t yet have, a trick that goes against thousands of years of culture that warns: “One must think of poverty even when wealthy”. Continue reading Auto makers hope to sell China on credit
Rolls-Royce announced at Auto Shanghai that the company’s 80th showroom in the world has just been opened in Chengdu. The opening of the fifth Rolls-Royce showroom in Greater China signifies the company’s confidence in the region’s continued growth.
The appointed Rolls-Royce Motor Cars dealer is Chengdu Sanhe Automobile Technique Co., Ltd which will operate a new 400 sq.m. showroom at the Singapore Industrial Park located in the Hi-tech District in Chengdu. The other Rolls-Royce showrooms in Greater China are located in Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Ian Robertson, Chairman and CEO, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said, “We are delighted to announce the opening of our new showroom in Chengdu. China is a very important market for Rolls-Royce, with sales in 2006 growing by more than 60 per cent, making the region our third largest market in the world behind the USA and the UK. We anticipate further growth in China and expect to open further showrooms later this year.â€
Mr Robertson unveiled the new Phantom Drophead Coupé at Auto Shanghai, the first time the new convertible has been seen in the Asia Pacific region. Production of the new model will begin at the company’s UK manufacturing plant at Goodwood, England in the summer.
The two-door, four-seat convertible is a less formal interpretation of classic Rolls-Royce design than its four-door stable mate, the Phantom. Using the lightweight rigidity of an all-aluminium spaceframe, it marries modern technology to a sleek, streamlined convertible body.
Some of the special design features of the Phantom Drophead Coupé are:
An optional brushed steel bonnet and rear teak deck. The bonnet is machine brushed before being hand finished to ensure a uniform grain throughout;
An advanced aluminium spaceframe. Lightweight and exceptionally strong, it requires over 120 metres of hand-welding;
A picnic boot with a split tail compartment which opens in two parts, giving easy access to 315 litres of space. The lower tailgate provides a comfortable seating platform for two adults when lowered;
A fabric hood which is the largest of any modern convertible car and uses five layers of material to insulate the interior;
Power supplied by a 6.75 litre naturally aspirated V12 engine giving brisk performance and a 0-60mph time of 5.7 seconds.
Hand-built using the finest quality materials to the exacting standards of Rolls-Royce, the new Phantom Drophead Coupé is exciting customers around the world and attracting large numbers of new buyers to the brand. More than half the orders placed for the car are from customers who have never owned a Rolls-Royce before.
Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation (Group) (SAIC), China’s leading auto producer, will produce its first independently developed hydrogen fuel-cell car under the brandname of “Shanghai”, announced Hu Maoyuan, Chairman of the SAIC Board. Continue reading Shanghai Auto to Produce Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Car
We recently told you about the pricing of the new Altima Coupe. What we didn’t know at the time was when we would see the sharp fwd coupe on showroom floors. Well, now we do. The release date has been announced as May 25. Just in time for summertime buyers to get out and enjoy stretching the legs of this G35-for-the-common-man-or-woman. As we reported, the new coupe will start at $20,490, plus a $625 destination charge, making G35-coupe-like looks easily attainable. Continue reading Altima coupe on sale in May
We showed you spy shots of this car earlier in the week, but our man on the floor in Shanghai met up with the Geely Meirenbao II on the show floor today. Apparently the Meirenbao on display today is the second generation of an earlier concept produced by Geely. The new model’s front clip has been compared by some to an R34 Nissan Skyline. We’ve got plenty of live shots showing the car from every angle, so we’ll let you be the judge of whether or not the Skyline has influenced Geely’s designers. This the first time we’ve seen the rear of the Meirenbao, and it appears as disconnected from the vehicle’s overall design as we guessed. We also noticed it would take a good arm to swing a suitcase or grocery bag up over that extremely high trunk lid.
Like most Chinese automakers, Geely exclaims its intent on entering the North American every chance it gets. We’re wondering what kind of reception a design like this would receive cruising down Woodward Ave. Either way, Geely gets an E for effort.
[Source: Autoblog Chinese]
We just got word that KTM has decided to switch builders for its grown-up go-kart, the X-Bow. This 1,500-pound, 300-hp track day special is set to launch next February with an initial, special-edition run of 100 units. It was originally anticipated that 100 would be the total number of units sold per year, so Dallara had been tabbed to produce them. Continue reading Magna Steyr tapped to build more KTM X-Bows than expected
Our colleagues at Autoblog Chinese have just provided us with our first live look of the Chery Shooting Sport concept, which is one of more than a few cars at the Shanghai Auto Show this year that proves Chinese design is evolving. Continue reading Shanghai Auto Show: LIVE shots of the Chery Shooting Sport
We just reported that a group of Chrysler employees in Toledo are crafting a proposal that would have the automaker’s 50,000 UAW workers buy a controlling stake in the automaker. The proposed worker buyout offer is already stirring up a reaction among the major players involved in the potential sale of the Chrysler Group. Continue reading CAW rejects, Kerkorian cozies up to UAW workers’ bid for Chrysler
Last week we told you that DaimlerChrysler’s Rüdiger Grube was heading to New York to visit with potential suitors for the Chrysler Group. And it appears he was a man on a mission. It seems that a close source has told news outlets that a sale could be wrapped up by as early as May. Continue reading April showers could bring May sale of Chrysler
New York’s mayor, Mike Bloomberg, is ready to steal a page from his London counterpart’s handbook and announce plans to hit drivers who bring their cars into Manhattan below 86th street with an $8 congestion charge in a bid to ease gridlock in the city’s crowded midtown business district. The fee would include the existing bridge and tunnel tolls drivers currently have to pay. Some people are understandably upset, and opposition groups are said to be forming in the outer boroughs. Continue reading Mayor Mike readies $8 congestion fee for NYC drivers