Category: Volkswagen

The Volkswagen Group China And The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Volkswagen Group China was the official automotive partner of the Beijing Olympic Games. The theme of the cooperation was “Enjoy the Olympic Journey with Volkswagen”.

This partnership was mainly about providing vehicles to the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee: 4.350 Volkswagens, 650 Skodas, and 1.000 Audi-brand cars. Volkswagen Group China reportedly paid US$150 million for the pleasure of providing the vehicles, outbidding Hyundai China.

Continue reading “The Volkswagen Group China And The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games”

FAW-Volkswagen Golf A2, the car that never came.

In November 1990, Geng Zhaojie (FAW) and Dr. Hahn (VW) signed a contract for a joint venture, producing 150.000 cars: the Volkswagen Golf A2 (hatchback) and Jetta A2 (sedan).

FAW-VW (First Auto Works-Volkswagen) Golf A2, pre-series ckd-made with test license plate ‘Jilin 99 Test 0085’. Front page magazine Qiche Jishu (Automobile Technology) 1991/1.

Continue reading “FAW-Volkswagen Golf A2, the car that never came.”

FAW-Volkswagen Jetta SDI Was A Rare Diesel-powered Sedan In China

FAW-Volkswagen Jetta SDI

Diesel engines in passenger cars have long been problematic in China. Many large Chinese cities, including the capital Beijing, ban diesel-powered passenger cars within the city limits because diesel is considered a dirty kind of fuel only suitable for trucks and buses.

Still, in the early 2000’s, several car makers launched diesels in China, pointing at the low fuel consumption and low greenhouse emissions. A well-known local diesel proponent was Hawtai, which developed its own 2.0 turbo diesel engines. From the foreign side there was really just one car maker that was serious about diesel, and that was, no surprise, Volkswagen. In 2002 the Germans launched a diesel-powered variant of their popular Jetta sedan, made by the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture.

Continue reading “FAW-Volkswagen Jetta SDI Was A Rare Diesel-powered Sedan In China”

The story of Thunder Sky (Part 2)

This is part 2 of the story of Thunder Sky and their experimental electric vehicles, part 1 can be found here. In my last article I introduced Thunder Sky and gave you an overview of their early history as well as details on their vehicles prior to 2007. In this article I will introduce you to the cars they made after 2007 and also go into detail on their interesting relationships with companies such as FAW, Krystal and MVP RV’s. I won’t go into detail on some of Thunder Sky’s other ventures but it would be an understatement to say that they’ve been involved in just about everything! Winston Chung has been recognized for his work by the United Nations and Thunder Sky donated 10 million dollars to University of California Riverside to establish a research center named ‘Winston Chung Global Energy Center’, produced LiYPO4 battery packs (using 1000AH battery cells) and also helped install the batteries in buildings. All very cool stuff but not really car related and so I won’t be covering it all in my article because it doesn’t really relate to vehicles. For more details please search on Thunder Sky’s website www.thundersky-winston.com.

Continue reading “The story of Thunder Sky (Part 2)”