BEIJING -- Henrik Fisker is working with a Hong Kong-based investor group to salvage Fisker Automotive, the plug-in hybrid automaker he co-founded nearly six years ago, sources told Reuters this week. The well-regarded car designer is now teamed up with an investor group led by Hong Kong billionaire and Fisker investor Richard Li. The discussions follow Henrik Fisker's resignation from the financially troubled company in March.
SAIC Motor Corp., China's largest automaker, will resume delivery of its electric Roewe E50 at prices based on government subsidies that ended last year. The Shanghai-based carmaker introduced the battery-powered car in November and sold about 200 units before government rebates for EVs expired.
HONG KONG -- BYD Co. has rolled out Hong Kong's first electric taxi fleet, marking a milestone for its all-electric battery car that highlights its promise and its limitations. "We expect to increase the number of e6 taxis in Hong Kong to 5,000 in three years," said Liu Xueliang, general manager of BYD Asia Pacific sales, after the company announced it is making a push in the former British colony to encourage the use of its all-electric e6 taxi.
SHANGHAI -- In China, foreign assembly plants are heavily concentrated along the nation's prosperous coastal areas. But thanks to Beijing's decision last week to lure foreign investment to interior regions, four cities in central and southwest China will emerge as major production centers. Pictured: Yang Jian is managing editor of Automotive News China.
DETROIT -- A boutique carmaker led by former General Motors executive Bob Lutz has joined forces with Wanxiang Group -- China's largest automotive supplier -- to bid for Fisker Automotive, people familiar with the matter said. VL Automotive and Wanxiang want to gain control of Fisker through a prepackaged bankruptcy, the sources said.
GUANGZHOU -- Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. says it will spend 2.9 billion yuan ($475 million) to expand production of its Trumpchi cars and develop three new models. The company said 1.7 billion yuan will be used to increase output at its car plant. The remaining outlay will be allocated for the development of three new models code-named the A28, AD2 and A68, according to the state-owned company.
Great Wall Motor Co., China's largest SUV maker, sold 67,000 vehicles in April, up 41 percent from the year-ago month. The company's Hover SUVs enjoyed strong demand in April, surging 87 percent year-on-year to 33,000 units. Sales of Wingle pickups rose 11 percent to 13,000 units, while deliveries of Great Wall sedans increased 14 percent to 21,000 units.
SHANGHAI -- German supplier Continental AG has developed a multimedia navigation system for PSA Peugeot Citroen for use in China. Continental's Multimedia Radio Navigation system debuted in March in Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co.'s stretched C4 compact family car. Dongfeng Peugeot is a joint venture of Dongfeng Motor Corp. and PSA Peugeot Citroen.
BEIJING -- China should refrain from "micromanaging" the automotive industry and allow market competition to spur innovation and weed out weaker automakers, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said in a report. The government should focus instead on building a fair and competitive environment and abandon monopolistic polices aimed at creating fewer and bigger automakers, the state-backed research institute said in an annual report on industrial competitiveness released this week.
Ningbo Huaxiang Electronic Co., a major Chinese interior trim supplier, has acquired its German counterpart HIB Trim Part Solutions Group this month for 34 million euros (272 million yuan). HIB, of Mannheim, Germany, supplies premium wood, metal and carbon fiber interior trim to BMW AG, Daimler AG and Volkswagen Group.
