The long-rumored Chinese invasion may be coming sooner than we expected. Automotive World reports that Chinese automaker Brilliance has signed letters of intent with 36 US dealers in preparation for a US market launch. According to the report, Brilliance intends to launch products in the US as soon as it acquires 100 dealers. Apparently Brilliance’s

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Wild-Ass Rumor Of The Day: Brilliance Buying Dealers, Saturn Brand For US Launch?

China’s SAIC, which had bought Britain’s MG and Rover in a roundabout way, is expected to unveil a production version of the MG 6 at the upcoming 2009 Guangzhou auto show next week, Gasgoo writes. The five-door MG6 was shown as a concept at the 2009 Shanghai auto show in April. Production versions, complete with fake

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SAIC Readies MG6

Several Plans Involve Greater Cooperation With Taiwan in EV Developmen t Here's a roundup of news out of

Sweden’s unions are on a hot trail.  They think that –ohmygod- the Chinese government could be pulling the strings with Geely and Volvo. China’s Geely won’t say where they get the money for buying Volvo from Ford . Geely says its backers include Chinese banks. Sweden’s union leaders are concerned that the Chinese government may

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Geely Keeps Volvo Unions Guessing On Money Issue

On Wednesday, German German tire and car parts maker Continental AG joined the long line of multinationals who opened a R&D facility in China. The multinationals are way ahead of popular wisdom that technology is developed in the West and ripped off in the East. In reality, development has long left the building and has

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Multinationals Move R&D To China

China has barely received wireless 3G service (a little later than the US, much later than Europe and Japan.)  China has three competing  3G  technologies, one based on the globally accepted WDCMA (UMTS) standard, the other two homegrown. That, and the fact that coverage is still spotty, doesn’t stop them from networking their cars. Chinese

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China To Develop Networked Car

Despite allegedly falling quality, magical accelerator pedals, Hyundai snapping at their heels, depressed stock price, management musical chairs and Volkswagen taking their “world’s biggest car maker by volume” title you’d think Toyota would have little to smile about. Or not. Reuters reports that even in this creaky economy Toyota managed to post a 5% increase

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Toyota Global Sales Headed Up

Volkswagen wants to unseat Toyota as number one by 2018. When they announced that strategy, it was widely discounted as Wolfsburg hubris, and as a goal so far out that nobody will recall nine years down the road that the goal has ever been set. Or as the saying goes in Wolfsburg: “In 2018, I’ll

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Who’s On First? Toyota? VW? Or, Gasp, GM?

As U.S. President Barack Obama landed in Shanghai for a weeklong visit to his largest creditor, China, the news awaited him that China’s Ministry of Commerce will investigate the U.S. government’s financing and rescue plans for the American auto industry, Shanghai Daily reports. The move is part of China’s probe into possible dumping and subsidies on

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Trade War Watch 8: China Probes US Bailout

In January 2009, China surpassed the USA as the world’s largest car market. Since then, the gap had widened month after month. While China is clocking in near triple digit growth rates, US sales are still down. Even GM’s Henderson believes that China will stay ahead of the USA for quite some times. “It’s not

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Freep Has An Epiphany: “China Surpasses U.S. As Top Vehicle Market”