Archive for the ‘China’ Category

According to a (very brief) article in China Car Times, Chinese automaker Geely is finally prepared to submit a bid to Ford Motor Company for Volvo. Geely's alleged offer: $293 million. A couple of weeks ago, sources were circulating a similar rumor, but with a figure of $2 billion attached. And back in June, our own Marty Padgett noted that Ford isn't likely to accept anything less than $3 billion. Needless to say, the situation is confusing.

Adding to the confusion -- and this could merely be a glitch in translation -- China Car Times reports that the Chinese government has given Geely "penultimate" approval to purchase Volvo from Ford,...

More signs that the world of today is very different from the one our parents and grandparents knew: according to stat-hounds AutoPacific, 15% of car buyers would consider purchasing a Chinese-brand vehicle, and 11% would mull the possibility of purchasing one from India. Those statistics may not sound very impressive until you consider that only 16% of Americans say they would look twice at car from Korea. Which kind of makes you wonder: is the public truly wary of cars from emerging markets, or do they simply not understand where Hyundais and Kias come from?

AutoPacific interviewed over 30,000 buyers over the course of the survey, entitled...

Although it certainly pales in comparison to the recent unrest in Xinjiang, China's approval of Mercedes-Benz and BMW vehicles for its government fleet is causing outrage among citizens. Technically, no vehicles from those automakers have been bought just yet, and those that are must be manufactured in China; however, the fact that luxury models have been approved for bureaucrats has the populace crying foul. Perhaps government officials have forgotten the unpleasant lessons of the Cultural Revolution? [MotorAuthority]