India slowly replacing China as auto mfg hub

[cirr]

As for electric vehicle，China is light years ahead of India。

These funny Indians are hopelessly optimistic and extremely conceited。

 

[cirr]

BYD Announces Sales Launch of Qin Electric Hybrid in Latin America

BYD's second generation electric, plug-in hybrid, goes on sale in Central and South America.

Published: 04-Dec-2013
EV World

Legend has it that a Chinese fleet arrived in North America in 1421, decades before the arrival of Columbus's tiny three-ship expedition. Whether they did or not continues to be hotly debates, but what isn't being debated is the current 'invasion' of the Americas by the descendants of Admiral Zheng.

While much world's attention is focused on the massive trade imbalance between the West and Asia, China in particular, in the form of all sorts of consumer goods from clothing to electronics, one company has been steadily chiseling a niche for itself in Central and South America, introducing its 12m electric buses on Aruba and its electric taxi's in Columbia, among the long list of demonstration projects in the region.

Now BYD is introducing its second generation electric hybrid, the Qin, into Costa Rica, with sales to commence immediately. The successor of the F6DM, the world's first production electric hybrid, the Qin - pronounced 'Cheen' and named in honor of the first emperor of China - is a designed-from-the-ground-up plug-in hybrid that 'packs a punch,' according to BYD's press announcement. Debuting the car at Costa Rica's leading automobile dealership in the capital of San Jose, it is powered by a 217kW drive system that can accelerate it from zero-to-100 km/hr (62 mph) in 5.9 seconds, while promising fuel consumption of just 1.6 liters per 100 km, the equivalent of 147 mpg under test drive conditions.

Details on pricing, warranty, amenities and other pertinent information have not yet been released, but BYD has advised that sales will begin immediately in Central and South America through the regions 'largest automobile distributors.'

BYD Announces Sales Launch of Qin Electric Hybrid in Latin America - EVWORLD.COM

 

[gslv mk3]

Nice to see our neighbours Cheerleading for Chinese,as they havent got an Industry on their own..


TATA Vista EV on sale in Europe.|

 

[cirr]

Great Wall Outdoes Tesla as SUVs Beat Electric: Chart of the Day

China’s Great Wall Motor Co. surpassed Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) as the top-performing auto stock as sport utility vehicles prove more profitable than electric cars costing four times as much.

The CHART OF THE DAY tracks the carmakers’ shares since Tesla’s U.S. listing on June 28, 2010. Great Wall, China’s largest SUV manufacturer, has jumped 717 percent in Hong Kong through Dec. 2, exceeding the 630 percent gain for Tesla. The lower panel shows the consensus of analyst recommendations for Great Wall was 4 out of a 5-point maximum, more than Tesla’s 3.3, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Great Wall, based in Hebei province, has risen about 9,000 percent since its 2008 low, the most in the 28-member Bloomberg World Auto Manufacturers Index, as surging sales and low costs generated the widest operating profit margin among listed carmakers in 2012. SUV sales in China climbed 73 percent in October, even as the government battled to curb air pollution.

“While attention has been focused on flashy Tesla, Great Wall has continued its steady rally,” said Mari Oshidari, a Hong Kong-based strategist at Okasan Securities Group Inc. “Great Wall is likely to extend gains on strong SUV sales, helped by demand from officials switching from foreign luxury cars.”

China’s Cabinet is encouraging officials to purchase domestic brands as part of President Xi Jinping’s austerity drive. Great Wall’s stock rally has made Chairman Wei Jianjun Asia’s wealthiest car executive with a fortune of $7.8 billion, compared with Tesla Chairman Elon Musk’s $6.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

While Tesla shares have more than tripled this year, they’ve fallen 36 percent from a record on Sept. 30 after three fires in its Model S sedans threatened to prompt a recall. The vehicle’s price ranges from $70,000 to more than $100,000, compared with $15,700 to $24,100 for Great Wall’s bestselling Hover H6 SUV. The Chinese automaker will have an operating margin of 18.1 percent next year, versus 3.4 percent for Tesla, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-1...f-the-day.html

 

[cirr]

Analysis: Qoros of Approval

By Mark Bursa
Just-Auto.com
February, 20, 2013

http://www.just-auto.com/analysis/qo..._id131817.aspx

Gert Volker Hildebrand, Executive Director of Design for Qoros

The brand new Qoros 3 Sedan, seen here in brown, will be launched on the China car market on November 21，2013, the first day of the Guangzhou Auto Show. Price will range from 120.000 to 170.000 yuan

Is the world’s newest car brand a Chinese export, or a global brand that just happens to build its cars in China? Mark Bursa reports on the first steps of Qoros.

The birth of a car brand is a moment to savour. After all, the recent trend in the automotive industry has been rather in the opposite direction, as long-established nameplates such as Rover, Saab, Mercury and Pontiac head for the history books.

And while many Chinese brands have sprouted up in the past decade or so, most have grown organically – the likes of Chery, Great Wall and Geely were building cars for the domestic market for some years before they made it on to the world radar.

But Qoros is not like that. Billed initially as a “Chinese” brand, it’s a rather more complicated animal. It will build its cars in China, and Chery is a significant investor in the project. But to bill Qoros as a Chinese export brand is some way from the truth. This is a truly international venture – so much so that in China, Qoros is actually classed as a joint venture brand, rather than a Chinese domestic nameplate.

International talent

And although Chery COO Guo Qian serves as Qoros chairman, there’s no Chinese national to be seen among the managers I’m in Munich to meet ahead of the formal unveiling of Qoros at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Instead, I’m talking to a German, an Italian, a Swede and a Dutchman – all serious players in the industry with impressive track records. And to highlight the just how new-born the brand is, the car I’m standing next to is Qoros chassis number 4.

Highest profile among the Qoros executives is executive director of design Gerd Volker Hildebrand. In car styling terms, he’s a rock star, with a one of the biggest hits of recent times to his name – he designed the new Mini for BMW.

With Qoros he’s been given a completely free hand – he even designed the Qoros logo. Having said that, Hildebrand has played safe with the cars. These are not radical departures. Rather, the Qoros 3 models – saloon, estate, hatchback and crossover – are aimed squarely at the heart of the European lower-medium sector.

Nor is Qoros being pitched as a budget brand. Obvious competitors would be Skoda Octavia, or Audi A3 Sportback. Of course, European products play well in China, and Qoros is being pitched as a “joint venture” European brand built in China – just like Volkswagen or Audi.
A brand with no obvious “Chineseness”

First impression is that Qoros demonstrates how far the Chinese have moved up the learning curve with regard to branding. The brand remains the central flaw of all Chinese launch strategies so far; even more so than the poor EuroNCAP scores resulting from cars built to Chinese tolerances.

Creating a new brand with no obvious “Chineseness” gets round the perception problem that Chinese brands are low-cost brands, and the only route to market available is at the lowest price point, slowly building reputation and quality to a point where price differentials are eroded. Kia and Hyundai have taken this route; Skoda too, and the Japanese before them.

Downside is the time it takes – more than 20 years have passed since VW bought Skoda, or Kia imported its first cars to Europe. And even though the Chinese have explored this route, it’s doubtful they have the patience to play that long game.

Chery has dabbled with launches into Western markets. It took space at the Frankfurt Motor Show as long ago as 2007, and before that had an unhappy experience in the US with a stalled partnership with American entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin’s Visionary Vehicles business.

In fact the seeds of Qoros were sown as long ago as 2007, when Chery set up a venture called Chery Quantum Auto, in partnership with Israel Corporation, an Israeli holding company. And while it took some time to sort out the business plan, by late 2011, the Qoros strategy was born, with Chery holding a 50% stake in the project rather than the majority holding it had originally targeted.

“At the beginning the intention was to take Chery platforms and develop them for the European market,” said executive director of sales & marketing Stefano Villanti. “But we realised that wouldn’t have created a different product, so basically the objective of the company changed, and we developed a completely new platform from scratch, very targeted to new consumers.”

Tier 1 suppliers on board

To make this happen, new partners were added to the project, notably MagnaSteyr, but also other Tier 1 suppliers including TRW, Continental, Bosch, Getrag, Benteler, Lear, Microsoft, Harman, Neusoft-Alpine and Iconmobile.

Chery’s role is principally as a shareholder, though it is manufacturing engines for the Qoros range at one of its plants. These are not existing Chery designs, but new petrol units developed in Germany by specialist AVL.

The timing of the venture wasn’t ideal – in late 2008, as the business plan was being finalised, the global economy was going into reverse. But that turned out to be a positive, said Villanti. “Starting a business in that condition helps you recruit the best talent in the market as there were not many ventures starting out.”

Qoros cars are being built at a new environmentally-sustainable Chinese plant in Changshu. This will open with a capacity of 150,000, which can with minor adaptations and extra shifts ramp up to 250,000 cars a year. There’s room to expand – effectively a second line is in the long-term plan, which would bolster output to 450,000 cars a year.

Qoros also operates an engineering centre in Shanghai, with further input coming from Munich and MagnaSteyr’s Graz technical centre in Austria. Production hasn’t yet started at Changshu – pre-production prototypes are currently undergoing testing around the world.
Villanti believes the brand element of the Qoros launch is vital – not just in Europe, but in China too. “Chinese consumers are very sophisticated,” he said. “They can distinguish good products from bad. Brand is important for them and they are in many ways more sophisticated than we are. They get thousands of new brands every year, so they are more used to exploring new brands and what’s behind them.”

Villanti said the level of knowledge of Chinese consumers was extremely impressive when Qoros was undertaking market research into the Chinese market – quoting technical specifications from memory in a way that would be rare in the west.

The failed attempts to launch in Europe by the likes of Brilliance were also examined in depth. “We had to ask whether that was a brand problem or a product problem,” said Villanti. “If you have a good product, you will get into the consumer’s mind very quickly. Look at phones, such as HTC – does anybody mind having a Chinese phone nowadays?”

Hildebrand’s designs are clearly designed for mass appeal. “My job is to serve the needs of the brand,” he said. “I cannot do another Mini with Qoros.” Indeed. These are not quirky cars. In fact the styling is quite conservative, with obvious comparison points with other brands. The overall impression is “German” – Volkswagen is the obvious reference point, as is Audi. There’s also a hint of the latest Kia styling about the cars – perhaps not surprising, as Kia is another Asian brand with a German superstar stylist, Peter Schreyer.

'Creating future history'

With no existing ‘brand DNA’ to work with, Hildebrand has had a blank canvas for Qoros. “Our slogan is ‘creating future history’,” he said. “Apple started with no heritage. The brand is created by the owners – you can only provide the best content for them to define themselves with.” The logo is prominent on front, side and rear of the cars, and a “horizontal design language” has been used, making lines as long as possible so as to “stretch” the car.

Three models will be on the Geneva Show stand – the Qoros 3 sedan and estate, plus a hybrid Crossover that uses the same basic bodyshell of a fourth car – a five-door hatchback.

The sedan and estate are front-drive, powered by a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, either naturally aspirated or turbocharged, with stop-start technology. Six-speed manual or six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmissions will be offered. The hybrid uses a 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine with two electric motors. One electric motor drives the rear wheels –giving all-wheel drive capability - and the other acts as a generator. The three-pot engine will also be offered as an entry model. It’ll meet Euro VI regs.

A diesel option is still to be decided – current Euro V and future VI regulations favour gasoline, and China has almost no demand for diesel, so the decision is still to be made. Outsourcing would makes sense, if indeed Qoros does decide to go diesel.

The plan is not to pitch Qoros as an entry brand. Instead, the cars will come with a high basic specification, offering a good value bundle, with 16in alloy wheels, parking cameras and so on as standard, and a very advanced iPad-style infotainment system, which uses a very intuitive touch screen that looks as good as anything on any production car.

European distribution will start with independent importers, with sales scheduled to start initially in China and “smaller European markets”. In China Qoros is building its own stand-alone dealer network – already 120 dealers have signed up to sell the brand, with 80 dealers scheduled to be open by the launch. This gives coverage in most key cities, especially around the “gold coast”. Experienced Chinese managers have been hired to run the domestic sales programme. In China, the Qoros 3 range fits into the C-plus segment, and with a long wheelbase for its segment it will play well with Chinese owners who like to be chauffeured.

Currently, small test batches of cars are being built – “Job 1” and full-scale production is expected in the autumn, and the first cars will be on sale by the end of the year. Initial build will be left-hand drive only; UK and other RHD markets will have to wait until 2016 at the earliest. There are no technical obstacles to making RHD – the delay is really a capacity issue, though some crash-testing will need to be carried out again.

It’s a carefully-designed and well-worked plan. The cars maybe lack a little individuality, but they appear well-packaged in terms of size and specification. Pressure points on the strategy rest on the ability of the Chinese plant to build to global quality standards, and the ability of independent distributors to get a new brand to market in Europe. With a solid Chinese-market strategy anchoring the project, things are looking good for the world’s newest automaker.

 

[SpArK]

High-end bikes & electric cars made in India for China


Harley Davidson, KTM-Bajaj, M&M make India production base for automobiles to be assembled and sold in China

In what may come as a surprise to many, India is quietly becoming a production hub of high-end vehicles meant for export to China. Iconic US motorbike maker Harley Davidson, Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM and Mahindra & Mahindra have preferred to set up manufacturing facilities in India than in the relatively low-cost China and export the output.

KTM, 48 per cent owned by Bajaj Auto, has identified two of its products under the Duke brand for export to China as completely knocked-down (CKD) units. The initial target is to sell over 10,000 CKD units of these high-end bikes annually. Exports are expected to commence in 2014. The two bikes are Duke 200 (Rs 1.35 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi) and Duke 390 (Rs 1.88 lakh) manufactured at Chakan in Pune as part of the company’s joint development programme with Bajaj Auto. The KTM strategy is to sell high-power bikes from Europe and low-power ones from India. The bikes would be assembled at an outsourced facility in China.

Confirming the plans, S Ravikumar, senior vice-president (business development), Bajaj Auto, said, “The China strategy for KTM is clear. They want to target the niche upper end of the motorcycle market in China. They are not interested in the lower end where there are many players and huge volumes. We expect there to be a large market for high-end bikes in China.” The China thrust is part of the joint strategy of Bajaj-KTM to treble exports to around 70,000 units per annum from India, from about 25,000 currently. That effectively means about 13 per cent of the exports would come from selling to China.

Stefan Pierer, CEO, KTM Motorcycles AG, said, “We are in the process of setting up an assembly unit in China, which is expected to be commissioned sometime next year.” Keeping KTM company will be Harley Davidson, which has lined up for export models developed on the recently unveiled Street platform from its facility in Bawal (Haryana). Currently, Harley does not have any plants outside the US, except in Brazil and India, and it wants to leverage those plants for export to China. Anoop Prakash, managing director, Harley Davidson India, said, “Harley Davidson has developed the Street platform after a gap of 14 years. Both Street 750 and Street 500 will be manufactured in India, the only other production hub for the models apart from Kansas in the US.

These bikes will be exported from India to markets in Europe and Asia, including China.” Production and export of both models on the Street platform are expected to commence in India mid next year. Prakash, however, declined to specify a timeline for starting exports to China.

Abdul Majeed, partner and leader (automotive practice), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) explained, “Both India and China are key markets in terms of two-wheeler sales. Given that customer requirements in both countries are largely similar, two-wheeler makers operating out of India only stand to gain in cost leadership if they are able to attain quality parameters while exporting to China.”

The potential to gain volumes in electric vehicles has drawn Mahindra & Mahindra to explore opportunities in China. The discontinuation of government incentives on green vehicles has meant the Mahindra e2o has sold only about 400 units since its launch in March — numbers the company was expecting to clock monthly.

Mahindra & Mahindra group company Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles (MREV) is developing a variant of the electric car for exports scheduled to commence in early 2014. While the export variant would be first shipped to countries in the European region, MREV is additionally looking at opportunities to tap the growing market for electric vehicles in China. Chetan Maini, chief of strategy and technology, MREV, had told Business Standard earlier, “The export variant would be ready by early next year. We are looking at exporting the e2o to all markets we previously exported the Revai. We will also explore possibilities in China.”

According to industry estimates, the Chinese market has the potential for sales of five million electric vehicles by the end of the decade. Nearly half the 4,750 units of the Revai manufactured since inception were sold in 24 countries, mostly across Europe and West Asia.

RIDING ACROSS THE GREAT WALL

• Harley Davidson will start manufacturing Street 750 and Street 500 at its facility in Bawal, Haryana in 2014.Both models will be exported from India to markets in Europe and Asia, including China.
• KTM to export Duke 200 and Duke 390 to China. Completely knocked-down (CKD) kits of both the models will be shipped from partner Bajaj Auto’s facility in Chakan near Pune. Initial target is to export 10,000 CKD kits per annum.
• Mahindra Reva is eyeing China as a potential market for the sale of its electric car e2o. An export variant is being readied for launch in 2014, to begin with Europe.

High-end bikes & electric cars made in India for China | Business Standard

 

[faithfulguy]

BYD Announces Sales Launch of Qin Electric Hybrid in Latin America

BYD's second generation electric, plug-in hybrid, goes on sale in Central and South America.

Published: 04-Dec-2013
EV World

Legend has it that a Chinese fleet arrived in North America in 1421, decades before the arrival of Columbus's tiny three-ship expedition. Whether they did or not continues to be hotly debates, but what isn't being debated is the current 'invasion' of the Americas by the descendants of Admiral Zheng.

While much world's attention is focused on the massive trade imbalance between the West and Asia, China in particular, in the form of all sorts of consumer goods from clothing to electronics, one company has been steadily chiseling a niche for itself in Central and South America, introducing its 12m electric buses on Aruba and its electric taxi's in Columbia, among the long list of demonstration projects in the region.

Now BYD is introducing its second generation electric hybrid, the Qin, into Costa Rica, with sales to commence immediately. The successor of the F6DM, the world's first production electric hybrid, the Qin - pronounced 'Cheen' and named in honor of the first emperor of China - is a designed-from-the-ground-up plug-in hybrid that 'packs a punch,' according to BYD's press announcement. Debuting the car at Costa Rica's leading automobile dealership in the capital of San Jose, it is powered by a 217kW drive system that can accelerate it from zero-to-100 km/hr (62 mph) in 5.9 seconds, while promising fuel consumption of just 1.6 liters per 100 km, the equivalent of 147 mpg under test drive conditions.

Details on pricing, warranty, amenities and other pertinent information have not yet been released, but BYD has advised that sales will begin immediately in Central and South America through the regions 'largest automobile distributors.'

BYD Announces Sales Launch of Qin Electric Hybrid in Latin America - EVWORLD.COM

How is this one compare to Tesla?

 

[cirr]

How is this one compare to Tesla?

Wait for the E9 due for launch in 2014。

The supercar will use pure electric drive and be able to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 3.9s。

The Qin is however aimed at competing with the Toyota Prius and the Chevy Volt：

BYD spicing up plug-in line-up with Tang hybrid, E9 electric sports car

By Domenick Yoney

Posted Sep 15th 2013 4:52PM

http://green.autoblog.com/2013/09/1...up-with-tang-hybrid-e9-electric/#aol-comments

BYD seems bent on using green technologies to inject performance into its line up. The Chinese automaker is already set to offer its Qin Hybrid (pictured) – pronounced Chin, it's a 50-km (31-mile) plug-in version of its Su Rui model, said to be capable of sprinting to 100 km/h (62 miles per hour) in a brisk 5.9 seconds – to the public later this Fall. Now, however, it has revealed several future vehicle programs that vastly improve on the zippiness metric, while keeping fuel consumption to a minimum.

One, the Tang hybrid, will mate a direct injection 2.0-liter turbo engine to an electric motor to return a legitimately quick 4.9 second 0-to-100 km/h experience. Before it finds a place in this sedan, however, Chinese consumers are likely to see the same drivetrain powering the upcoming S7 SUV. There is, as yet, no word as to what type of fuel economy drivers might expect, or how much all-electric range the vehicles might return.

Similarly bereft of detail comes word of an electric sports car. The E9 is to rely on batteries alone to propel it to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds. Since BYD uses a less-energy-dense battery chemistry than Tesla, we imagine that, while it could have comparable straight line performance to the California company's Roadster, it will likely lack the 200+ mile range of that original electric two-seater. Still, if the E9 can bring updated styling to the table, we certainly feel such a halo vehicle might shine a favorable light on the rest of the company's product line.

BYD spicing up plug-in line-up with Tang hybrid, E9 electric sports car

 

[KRAIT]

ORly? For earning more then 20 x the average wage of an Indian, we still are one of the strongest in car mfg. Of course our car mfg companies have built dozens of factories in foreign countries to serve the local markets, but the high end cars are all manufactured here. Cars that India will not be able to mfg. in 50 years.
BTW, we are only a 80 million folk, India has 1.2 billion.

You do realize that Indian car manufacturers are buying European brands too.

Does 80 million folks make just car only ? 1.2 billion people don't think of or making of car. We build and do business in hell lot of things.

Next time you eat meat and take milk, most probably it has come from India.

what is your beef with India? lol

Most probably the beef in his country comes from India as India is one of the largest exporter of beef.

 

[Götterdämmerung]

You do realize that Indian car manufacturers are buying European brands too.

Does 80 million folks make just car only ? 1.2 billion people don't think of or making of car. We build and do business in hell lot of things.

Next time you eat meat and take milk, most probably it has come from India.

You mean UK brands as all their brands have foreign owners now, German, US, Chinese and Indian. Our car companies even bought the crown jewels of British car industry: RR and Bentley.

You do know that Germany is a super surplus mild producer, right? Our Holstein milk cattles are such super milk producers that we even exports them to the whole world.

I only eat organic beef from the region (Holstein), for a feast also French Charolais beef that can't be produced in India, not in 1000 years.

 

[IndoCarib]

Mahindra Reva to be exported to Europe | India Transport Portal

The Mahindra Reva e20 will soon be seen on European roads as the company plans to export the electric vehicle to several countries across the continent. The Mahindra Reva, India's only four-seater electric vehicle, will be available for export from next year if all goes as planned.