Report: Chery requests Chinese approval of $1.9B joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover

Filed under: China, Government/Legal, Plants/Manufacturing, Jaguar, Land Rover, Luxury A month ago, Jaguar Land Rover signed a joint-venture agreement with China’s Chery Automobile Company. JLR’s 12.1 billion yuan ($1.9 billion U.S.) investment, if approved, will pay for a plant in Changsu to build Jaguars, Land Rovers, engines and joint-venture models. The facility will also house [...]

Report: Ford finally takes serious aim at the Chinese market

Filed under: China, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford When we asked Volkswagen last year why it was building a factory in the U.S., after having missed the irrationally volcanic era of car sales, we were told that even a 12-million-per-annum market was still too big to ignore. A report in Reuters paints Ford’s situation in China somewhat the [...]

Report: Saab union asks Obama to pressure GM for licensing deal

Filed under: China, Europe, Government/Legal, Plants/Manufacturing, GM, Saab, UAW/Unions The door has not yet closed on Saab. Hoping for yet another 11th hour stay of execution, the defunct carmaker’s chief union, IF Metall, has written directly to President Obama, asking him to intervene, according to Just-Auto. While on the surface, this may seem silly, it’s [...]

Report: Saab union asks Obama to pressure GM for licensing deal

Filed under: China, Europe, Government/Legal, Plants/Manufacturing, GM, Saab, UAW/Unions The door has not yet closed on Saab. Hoping for yet another 11th hour stay of execution, the defunct carmaker’s chief union, IF Metall, has written directly to President Obama, asking him to intervene, according to Just-Auto. While on the surface, this may seem silly, it’s [...]

Report: Volvo planning long-wheelbase S60L for Chinese market

Filed under: Sedan, China, Volvo, Luxury Regular readers should be plenty familiar with the trend in the Chinese market towards long-wheelbase versions of the luxury sedans we have here. It’s just what high-end customers in the decentralizing economy look for. And European automakers have been only too glad to oblige. BMW, Audi, Porsche and Infiniti [...]