Geely Chairman Promises To Liberate Volvo from its Capitalist Owner / Oppressors

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Chairman Li Shufu recently had this to say about Volvo and its $1.8 billion purchase from Ford Motor Company: "A tiger belongs to the forest. It belongs to the wild world and not confined in a zoo. We need to liberate this tiger." Anyone else see the irony?
According to Autonews, Li was referring to Volvo's dependence on Europe for production and Europe and North America for the most part of its sales.
Geely's chairman believes that this issue will be solved by building a factory in Beijing, China, that will make 300,000 Volvo cars a year, or about the same amount the automaker currently produces at its plants in Sweden and Belgium
Chairman Li has big plans for his Swedish brand, going on to say:
"I see China as one of the markets where Volvo could show us it has the opportunity to liberate itself and show the potential that is has. That is the rational for the deal. We want to stabilize the brand in the traditional markets of Europe and North America and, at the same time, develop our business in emerging markets including China."
The deal with FoMoCo should be wrapped up in the third quarter of 2010, but we'll have to wait to see how Chinese ownership actually affects the once-proud Meatball.

- By Phil Alex

Via: Autonews

China Vehicle Sales Soar to 1.7 Million Units in March, up 56%

China's economic recovery seems to be on a solid footing this year as total vehicle sales in the country jumped 56 percent in March rising to an impressive total of 1.734 million units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. In the first three months of 2010, total vehicle sales in the country stood at 4.6 million units.
The Chinese industry group added that passenger car sales reached 1.26 million . units in March, up 63 percent from a year earlier.
In the first quarter of the year, GM's sales in China rose 71% to 623,546 units, while in the same period, Ford Motor Company saw its sales jump 84 percent to a record 153,362 units.
According to analysts, total vehicle sales in China will grow about 25 percent this year, rising to more than 17 million units. That's even more impressive if you take into account that last year, total vehicle sales in the country surged 45 percent over 2008 to 13.6 million units.

Via: CAAM & AP

The Chinese Connection: 2011 BMW 5-Series Long Wheelbase Sedan

Chinese consumers like their saloons with extra long wheelbases. Abiding by the logic that the client is always right, BMW placed the new 5-Series sedan on the procrustean bed and stretched its wheelbase up by 140mm or 5.5-inches. The car now measures 5,039mm or 198-in. in length with a wheelbase of 3,108mm or 122.4-in
Developed exclusively for the Chinese market, the 5-Series LWB model is built at BMW's plant in Shenyang in cooperation with a large number of regional partners.
To justify its limo-like character, BMW came up with what it calls "a high-comfort rear seat bench" that was developed specifically for this model.
Chinese buyers that intend to spend of not all, most of their time at the back seat can opt for an array of goodies including four-zone automatic a/c, rear-seat entertainment, a cooling box as well as electrically adjustable sunblinds on the rear side windows and a folding table integrated in the backrest of the front passenger's seat.
The Chinese-market 5er is offered with three straight-six gasoline engines, all combined with BMW's eight-speed automatic transmission.
The entry-level 523Li is powered by a 204HP 2.5-liter unit, the 528Li by a 258HP 3.0-liter engine and the range-topping 535Li by a turbocharged 3.0-liter engine with 306 horsepower.
The new 5-Series LWB will have its world premiere at the Auto China 2010 that will be held in Beijing from April 25 to May 2.
It's worth mentioning that in 2009, China was BMW's fourth largest market with sales of 90,536 units.