Category: Joint Ventures

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 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 Shanghai Pickup Trucks

Shanghai SH1020SP on display in the Taishan Classic Car Museum

Welcome to the second article on the Shanghai brand. In the previous article I introduced you to the saloon cars and took you through the development of those models. In this article I will cover all the pickup truck models produced under the Shanghai brand, starting with the reasoning behind creating these models and going on through the development stages to the models that went on sale.

Continue reading “The Shanghai Pickup Trucks”

The Shanghai Saloons

Fenghuang (Shanghai SH760)

The Shanghai brand is one that has always fascinated me. Growing up in Shanghai certainly helped fuel my curiosity but I was never really able to understand the evolution of the brand and when different models were sold, particularly in later years. Searching online I also found that an accurate account of the development of the brand is hard to find, even finding accurate production dates for the models in one place is a challenge. So I decided to create my own articles on the Shanghai brand, starting with the saloon cars and in future articles focusing on the pickup and station wagon variants. Many thanks to Erik for his help with this series of articles.

Continue reading “The Shanghai Saloons”

The story of Xingtai 114 Auto Works

Xingtai 114 Auto Works was founded in 1969 in a village to the southeast of Xingtai. Xingtai 114 was one of three main automakers in Xingtai that I have covered so far, the other two being Red Star and Changzheng. Xingtai 114’s product line consisted mainly of SUV’s, pickup trucks and buses, as well as some conversions based on products from other manufacturers such as ambulances. Perhaps most interesting of all were the unique Dacias they produced, unlike anything seen in Romania. More on those a bit later.

Continue reading “The story of Xingtai 114 Auto Works”

China’s Zotye Auto Almost Made The Lancia Lybra And The Fiat Strada

Zotye Libolang
Zotye Libolang

In the mid 200’s Fiat was in big trouble, so they went to China. Not to sell cars but to offload entire production lines to Chinese car makers.

In 2007 they sold the platform for the Alfa Romeo 166 to Guangzhou Auto, and then the Italians went to Zotye for a more complicated deal that included cars of Fiat, Fiat do Brasil, and Lancia.

Continue reading “China’s Zotye Auto Almost Made The Lancia Lybra And The Fiat Strada”

Spotted In China: Hongqi Yunhe CA5020 XBYA Stretched Wagon Hearse

Hongqi Yunhe CA5020 XBYA

On a beautiful cold autumn day in Beijing I met this great and giant Hongqi Yunhe CA5020 XYBA. Sadly it seemed the poor vehicle had been abandoned, dumped to turn into dust like the corpses she used to carry.

Continue reading “Spotted In China: Hongqi Yunhe CA5020 XBYA Stretched Wagon Hearse”