Automotive News Europe - January 19, 2009 - 8

PAGE 8 · www.autonewseurope.com January 19, 2009 China carmakers Changhe, Lifan to start sales in Europe Luca Ciferri Automotive News Europe BOLOGNA, Italy Lifan and Changhe, two small, privately owned Chinese carmakers, will rely on Italy’s Martin Motors for their first Europewide car launches. Martin Motors has the rights to sell Lifan and Changhe models in western, central and eastern Europe. The vehicles will be rebadged with the Martin Motors logo, said Martin Motors spokeswoman Viviana Martinelli. The privately owned distributor, based near Milan, plans to sell a combined 10,000 Lifan and Changhe units in Europe this year. They will go on sale in Romania this month, and in Italy in spring, provided the vehicles pass homologation tests. Sales of the Changhe and Lifan vehicles are planned in other western European markets for the second half of next year, beginning with Chevrolet keeps top spot in Russia John Revill Automotive News Europe MUNICH General Motors’ Chevrolet brand kept its No. 1 spot among foreign brands in Russia in 2008 despite a growing challenge from Hyundai. Chevrolet increased its sales by 24 percent to 235,466 cars last year compared with 2007, according to figures from the Moscow-based Association of European Businesses (AEB). Marc Kempe, spokesman for GM in eastern Europe, said Chevrolet was benefiting from a wide range of products and its fast-growing dealer network. “Chevrolet in Russia has a broader range of products than anywhere else in Europe,” he said. “It has the European cars, but also has other cars such as the Chevrolet Niva SUV.” Russians also liked the value positioning of Chevrolet, Kempe said. Sales of foreign brands increased 26 percent to 2.08 million in Russia in 2008, according to the AEB. But nearly all overseas brands suffered a tough December, with sales down 10 percent to 159,711. CSM Worldwide forecasts total sales in Russia to fall 11.4 percent to 2.47 million in 2009 before recovering to 2.49 million in 2010. Growing presence Chinese carmakers in Europe Jiangling Motors Great Wall Shuanghuan Brilliance Chery Jonway Zhejiang Gonow Geely Lifan Changhe European importer (s) Europe sales start Status Landwind Motor 2005 Sales stopped after poor result in crash test Eurasia Motor Martin Motors/CAD* HSO Motors Europe DR Motor/ Mermeler Group CAD*/DR Motor Dr Groupe Anadolu Group Martin Motors Martin Motors 2006 2007 2007 2007 2008 2007 2008 2009 2009 Hover SUV on sale in Italy CEO SUV on sale in Italy, Romania and other eastern Europe markets; sales of Bubble minicar halted by lawsuit BS6, BS4 sedans on sale in Germany, other markets DR5 SUV on sale in Italy; Tiggo, Alia in Turkey (2008) UFO SUV on sale in Germany; called the DR3 in Italy where sales due to start in spring Victory SUV and Troy pickup on sale in Italy under the Katay brand CK Echo, MK Familia on sale in Turkey Sales due to start in Romania this month, in Italy in spring Sales due to start in Romania this month, in Italy in spring Source: Companies *China Automobile Deutschland Germany, Austria and France, Martinelli said. Unveiled at the auto show here in December, the Lifan-built MM 520i is a five-door, 4040mm-long hatchback with a starting price of ¤11,820. The four-door 520 sedan is 4370mmlong and will start at ¤12,840. Both vehicles are powered by a 1.6-liter gasoline engine produced in Brazil by Tritec Motors, an engine company sold last summer by Chrysler to Fiat Powertrain Technologies. Chongqing Lifan Industry Group is China’s largest privately owned motorcycle manufacturer. Lifan launched its first car in April 2005. Strong allies Also at the Bologna show, Martin Motors unveiled the Ideal small car, built by Jiangxi Changhe Automobile. Changhe is based in Jingdezhen, in Jiangxi province. The Ideal is a 3600mm-long fivedoor hatchback. In Italy, pricing starts at ¤8,200 for the 1.0-liter gasoline version. Changhe has some strong allies. The Ideal was designed by Italy’s Stile Bertone, and the small automaker’s partner in China is Italian distributor Martin Motors unveiled the 520i hatchback (shown) and 520 sedan in December at the Bologna auto show. Sales of the cars, which are built by China’s Chongqing Lifan Industry Group, are scheduled to start this month in Romania. Suzuki Motor. For the Lifan and Changhe models to comply with Euro 4 emissions rules, Martin Motors is fitting all the vehicles with a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) system. In Italy, LPG vehicles receive a ¤1,500 state incentive, which already has been included in the announced list prices. Carmen Covrig, general manager of the Romanian importer CEMI Group, said the Romanian homologation of the car is almost complete. CEMI Group last year sold about 1,200 units of the Chinese-built Shuanghuan CEO large SUV in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Martin Motors also is the distributor for Shuanghuan Automobile, based in Shijiazhuang. Martin Motors has the rights to sell Shuanghuan vehicles in all of western Europe except for France and Netherlands. It also has rights for sales in central Europe. The distributor has a network of 87 independent dealers that sell its veANE hicles in Italy. Ford slips to No. 4 Hyundai fell short of its aim to sell 200,000 units in Russia in 2008, but it was Russia’s No. 2 selling brand after its new-car sales increased 30 percent to 192,719. Toyota was the third-ranked foreign brand with its unit sales up 31 percent to 189,966. Ford dropped to No. 4 from the No. 2 spot in 2007 despite increasing its sales by 6 percent to 186,828. Despite a 4 percent sales decline, the Ford Focus remained Russia’s top-selling foreign car with a volume of 93,496 units. Nissan was the fifth-largest foreign brand with sales up 26 percent ANE to 146,547. Photo: Luca Ciferri Q & A: Thomas Weber We’re ahead of the pack in EV field, Daimler r&d chief says STUTTGART Daimler is moving to position itself as a leader in electricvehicle technology through a new partnership with Dusseldorf-based chemicals and energy conglomerate Evonik Industries. Daimler will produce lithium-ion cells and even whole batteries with Evonik, while cells from Evonik subsidiary Li-Tec will be installed in Mercedes-Benz cars in the near future. The deal makes Daimler the only automaker with research, development and production of lithiumion cells and batteries under one umbrella, says Daimler’s research and development chief, Thomas Weber. But, as he told Matthias Krust, staff reporter at Automotive News Europe sister publication Automobilwoche, Daimler and Evonik want to find a third shareholder to bring expertise in electrical and electronic systems integration to the party. What role will lithium-ion batteries play at Daimler in the future? Batteries are the key technology on the way to emissions-free driving. Since lithium-ion batteries offer significant advantages, we decided to introduce them in hybrid vehicles across the board at Mercedes-Benz Cars and in our commercial vehicles. Moreover, the lithium-ion battery will have applications in our fuel-cell and battery vehicles in the future. What specifically is involved in your cooperation with Evonik? We have a 49.9 percent stake in the Evonik subsidiary Li-Tec, which, in our opinion, is the world’s leading company in the field of lithium-ion cells. Through it, we can introduce our know-how into the research, development and production of cells and contribute decisively to bringing the next generation of technology into regular production. In addition, we will establish a joint venture where we will have corporate control, with a 90 percent stake. This company will develop and produce complete battery systems for use in vehicles. Still, in a couple of respects we are open. And in what respects would that be? On the one hand, we are looking for yet another partner that could bring know-how in the electrical/electronics area. On the other hand, we are opening up an enormous upstream potential for ourselves, since third parties certainly have ample interest in this technology. With this step, we have assured ourselves quick and proprietary access to limited resources. Later purchasers profit from a tested, hightech application, and we profit from economies of scale. How much are you investing in cooperation with Evonik? “In the past, people often derided us because of our tenacity on fuel cells. But without those years of experience, what we are doing now would not even be possible.” Thomas Weber We are deploying an amount in the low three-figure millions of euros for this. Does this venture put Daimler in a leading position as far as lithium-ion technologies and alternative drives are concerned? In the past, people often derided us because of our tenacity on fuel cells. But without those years of experience, what we are doing now would not even be possible. Everyone else who displays concept cars on this theme in the near future will learn that there is still a distance to go before series application is practical. With our stake in Li-Tec and our joint venture with Evonik, we have set additional important milestones on the way to production readiness for emissions-free vehicles. As a result, we are the only automaker with the research, development and production of lithium-ion cells and batteries under one umbrella. We’ll ANE profit from this head start.

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Automotive News Europe - January 19, 2009

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