First Chinese Cars Entering Australia

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by vztrt

All it takes to make a car in china, take various design que's and pick them out of a hat.

A 300c bumper, with a Audi grill grafted in. The lights are of a VW Polo and the rest looks like superceeded rodeo.

[ieatsports_cars]

Fugly !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Buzz Box]

Originally Posted by Laser '81

These would probally sell like the Mahindra trucks. Does anyone know if the Mahindra trucks are still on the Australian market? They weren't very good according to this car advice review. I wonder if these will be the same.

Yeah we got a Mahindra dealership near us they are really only in country areas as they are very agricultural and really designed for farmers etc

Note: Thats how Subaru originally started in the UK.........

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by Buzz Box

Yeah we got a Mahindra dealership near us they are really only in country areas as they are very agricultural and really designed for farmers etc

Note: Thats how Subaru originally started in the UK.........

As did Lamborghini lol

[Kaan]

Originally Posted by Walt Kowalski

This car has swine flu.

Well some pig disease anyhow.

Look at its face

yeah mate you are right

[XR6_190]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

As did Lamborghini lol

there you go, Mahindra = Lamborghini, fascinating.

[burnz]

Originally Posted by The Monty

Makes me safe driving around in my AU now. Hit one of them, ill be able to break out a rag, wipe it off, and be on my merry way, while the person in the ute is left dissmembered and hanging out the window.

baahwaah remind's me of the futurama episode where a planet hit's the windscreen of the spaceship and wiped off.

[Streets]

You think they're ugly now, wait till the minitruckers get their hands on them.

[Buzz Box]

Well I just seen the first billboard ad for a Great Wall pick up $19,990 D/A plus free carwashs for life.

It said Good Wall (arrow to wall billboard attached to) then had Great Wall and an arrow to the ute below with the HUGE $19,990 D/A

Now available at Kings Cars.
www.kingscar.com.au

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by XR6_190

there you go, Mahindra = Lamborghini, fascinating.

You do know that Lamborghini started by building tractors.... right??

[Keepleft]

Originally Posted by SB076

Interesting thing is our government has legislated that our local manufacturers (Ford, Holden and Toyota) must have vehicle stability control on all cars manufacturing in Oz from 2011 (I think on) Yet they allow the these two cars to be inported without airbags or even ABS brakes - talk about mixed messages.

This is happening because the VICTORIAN government FIRST signaled its intention to create these as state-based laws, >>> for the the purposes of registration/saleability of new-market entries.

Credit therefore goes to Pallas, for using 'states rights', to now effectively improve the national requirement at ADR level.

(Put this up at the other thread too, credit where it is due).

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by SB076

Interesting thing is our government has legislated that our local manufacturers (Ford, Holden and Toyota) must have vehicle stability control on all cars manufacturing in Oz from 2011 (I think on) Yet they allow the these two cars to be inported without airbags or even ABS brakes - talk about mixed messages.

Edit (refer this thread http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11264278)

Unfortunately Ute's don't require ESC as part of the law.

[Ohio XB]

Here's a video of a commercial of a crash of a Great Wall Motors Hover, which is one of their SUV's. The result looks pretty good....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHMja11jZgI

Here's legitimate footage of a real crash test of the Hover. Again, looks pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOJSV...eature=related


If you want to look for videos of these vehicles the SA220 is called the Sailor in China, and the V240 is called the Wingle.


Steve

[naddis01]

Originally Posted by vztrt

pics

I actually saw one of these (The last one) on the road on the Sydney side of Lithgow last week. Unfortunatly they dont look any better in real life.

[Fordman1]

I'm predicting one of the top 3 Auto manufacturers here in Oz will be importing one of their mainstream models into this country from China in 2 to 3 years....

[bingoTE50]

Originally Posted by Barraxr8

I'm predicting one of the top 3 Auto manufacturers here in Oz will be importing one of their mainstream models into this country from China in 2 to 3 years....

Second this... I did say something similar in the past.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Barraxr8

I'm predicting one of the top 3 Auto manufacturers here in Oz will be importing one of their mainstream models into this country from China in 2 to 3 years....

Can't wait to see them with southern cross stickers on em.

[ltd]

Anyone else see the Geely rolls royce copy on top gear? What an absolute farce. Why do idiots elect governments hellbent on destruction for our industries in the name of supporting communists?

[SB076]

Originally Posted by Keepleft

This is happening because the VICTORIAN government FIRST signaled its intention to create these as state-based laws, >>> for the the purposes of registration/saleability of new-market entries.

Credit therefore goes to Pallas, for using 'states rights', to now effectively improve the national requirement at ADR level.

(Put this up at the other thread too, credit where it is due).

Ok so why are these utes allowed in without ABS, airbags or even high mounted stop lights?

[mustang70]

Originally Posted by SB076

Ok so why are these utes allowed in without ABS, airbags or even high mounted stop lights?

The new 70 series Landcruiser has no high mount stop lights on utes, no airbags, no abs and a mostly steel dash which I cant imagine is fun to put your knees through, BUT TWICE THE POWER, surely you should be more worried about getting these off the road first then?

[SB076]

Originally Posted by mustang70

The new 70 series Landcruiser has no high mount stop lights on utes, no airbags, no abs and a mostly steel dash which I cant imagine is fun to put your knees through, BUT TWICE THE POWER, surely you should be more worried about getting these off the road first then?

I think you are missing my point the government is currently pushing for safer cars (and fair enough) at the moment they are simply advertising that people should buy cars with ESC fitted, however come 2011 all cars must be fitted with ESC (again fair enough) That being the case why would we then bring into the country cars that dont have ABS, airbags etc

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by SB076

I think you are missing my point the government is currently pushing for safer cars (and fair enough) at the moment they are simply advertising that people should buy cars with ESC fitted, however come 2011 all cars must be fitted with ESC (again fair enough) That being the case why would we then bring into the country cars that dont have ABS, airbags etc

Commercial vehicles are classed differently from passenger vehicles and don't have the same safety requirements.

[irish2]

Originally Posted by Mongoose

Yeah, but take a look at the size of those drums, they are small truck sized. I bet these ones are probably datsun 120Y sized!

My 65 'stang has drums all around with no power assist and it stops real quick about 4 times in succession. Any more and it starts to fade. Drums are not bad at stopping cars, they just take longer to cool. That is why race cars needed disc brakes. As for ABS who needs it? Any defensive driving course instructor will tell you that you can stop faster without it if you know what your doing. People need to rely less on their vehicles and more on driver training for the unexpected.

[redranga]

I was told that the chinese dont recognise patents on things which is why they blatently copy, eg rodeo doors etc.

It can also been seen with the japanese motorbikes getting around and copies of honda stationary engines.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by police

I was told that the chinese dont recognise patents on things which is why they blatently copy, eg rodeo doors etc.

It can also been seen with the japanese motorbikes getting around and copies of honda stationary engines.

VW and I think GM tried to sue one of the Chinese car companies for stealing their designs, but being tried in a Chinese court the verdict was always going the way of the Chinese companies, even before the trial had even started.

[vztrt]

Geely reveals Aussie launch plans

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...257611001475CE

Hyundai import pioneer set to launch new Chinese brand Geely in Australia next year

By RON HAMMERTON 13 August 2009

A LEADING West Australian businessman who played a pivotal role in the introduction of Hyundai to Australia in 1986 is set to pioneer another new brand Down Under – China’s Geely Automobile – by launching a 1.5-litre small car in early 2010.

John Hughes – one of Perth’s biggest multi-franchise car dealers and former director of original Hyundai importer Bond Motor Sales – expects his first shipment of 500 Geely cars to arrive in Australia in January for February sales launch, initially confined to WA.

And Geely – pronounced ‘Jee-lee’ – might be just the first Chinese car brand to be imported by Mr Hughes’ Chinese Automobile Distributors, which has not ruled out adding others to the franchise.

These brands will go head-to-head in Australia with other fledgling Chinese marques, including the just-introduced Great Wall Motors and forthcoming Chery, both of which are being imported by Sydney-based Ateco Automotive.

Coincidentally, Ateco managing director Ric Hull once worked for Alan Bond’s Bond Motor Hyundai import operation after being appointed general manager by Mr Hughes.




Geely will open for business in Australia with the Corolla-sized Geely MK sedan and five-door hatch, powered by a 1.5-litre petrol engine mated with a choice of four-speed automatic or five-speed manual transmissions.

Mr Hughes said it was too early to give pricing, except to say the MK would be price-competitive with Korean small cars “but will have more features”.

The MK is expected to be followed in the next year or so by a 1.0-litre four-seat city car, the Panda, which is sold in two and four-door variants in China.

The Panda may well rival Suzuki’s Indian-built Alto and forthcoming Hyundai i10 and Proton Saga-based sedan as Australia’s cheapest car.

The cartoonish styling of the Panda (or LC-1) was reportedly inspired by the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games panda mascot, and was unveiled at last year’s Shanghai motor show.

Mr Hughes said his operation was not planning to push upmarket with other Geely models, including the freshly-launched 1.8-litre EC7, which is to be sold in China under a new premium sub-brand, Emgrand, and exported to the UK from next year.

This also rules out the controversial Rolls-Royce lookalike, the Geely GE, revealed in concept form at this year’s Shanghai motor show.

Initially, Geely cars will be available only through a network of three WA dealerships – two in Perth and one in regional Mandurah.

Fremantle-born Mr Hughes’ own John Hughes Group will own one of the dealerships, in a new stand-alone facility at Victoria Park, near his huge multi-franchise complex just south of Perth’s CBD where he sells about 1400 cars a month from his Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Ford, VW and Kia outlets.

He said he had dealers in mind for Perth’s northern suburbs and Mandurah, but said it was too early to disclose names.

Mr Hughes – who was the world’s top-selling Hyundai dealer for eight consecutive years in the 1990s and remains Australia’s biggest Hyundai dealer – told GoAuto that his company was going through the process of recruiting dealerships in the eastern states.

He said that while final numbers had not been decided, he expected five or six dealers to be appointed to each of Sydney and Melbourne, with a lesser number in Brisbane, Adelaide and regional centres.

“I am not going to over-dealerise,” he said. “I have been a dealer all of my life and I have been on the other side of the fence and I have seen the result of over-dealerisation.

“Yet I also understand that we have to get sufficient representation to get the coverage.”

Mr Hughes said he was targetting substantial dealers who were both well established and prepared to take a long-term view of the product.

“I am quite aware what happened when the first Japanese cars came out; I know what happened very well when the Korean cars came out,” he said.

“When we started with Hyundai, (fellow Bond Motor director) Danny Fisher and I went over to the east to find dealers and nobody really wanted to know us – ‘Hyundai? South Korea? What are you talking about?’

“I am absolutely convinced that the Chinese products are streets ahead, relatively, of what the Japanese and Korean cars were when they first came out.

“But people are going to ask: ‘Chinese car, what’s the quality like, what’s the resale value like’. So we understand we are facing a period of growth.”

Mr Hughes said he was planning to open for business on the eastern seaboard in the second half of next year.

He said Geely’s Chinese management had been keen for him to begin sales this year.

“But with the car import tariff going down from 10 per cent to five per cent on January 1, it made more sense to start in early 2010,” he said.

“In November, I will be signing an irrevocable order for 1000 cars, 500 of which will be coming in the first shipment.”

Mr Hughes said official Australian Design Rule paperwork for the Geely MK had been submitted to Canberra and certification approval was expected within 30 days.

He said he was also expecting two Geely MK sample cars – one manual and one automatic – to arrive next month from China for local testing.

Mr Hughes said he had spoken with several Chinese manufacturers before opting to hitch his wagon to Geely, which he described as “family”.

“I have been involved in a lot of things over the years, not necessarily all involved in the car business, and when I look at those that went belly up, I think I was in partnership with the wrong person,” he said.

“But here, firstly, I am very impressed with the people. The Chinese take a different approach to the Koreans or Japanese, where they are less concerned about the written word and are more concerned with a meeting of the heart and the minds.

“And I am not being naïve about that. I have been around too long in this industry for that.”

Mr Hughes declined to state an annual target volume for Geely, saying he would start with the initial order of 1000 and take it from there.

“I have seen too many wise men make projections and then fall flat on their bum, and I don’t intend to do that,” he said.

“What do they say? A successful launch is where you under-promise and over achieve.”

Asked by GoAuto if the name of his import company – Chinese Automobile Distributors – indicated that he was looking to import more than one Chinese brand, Mr Hughes was coy, saying: “Why not be as widely embracing as possible? Who knows, in future? Initially, it is exclusively Geely.”

He declined to be drawn on what other brands he might consider.

At least four Chinese brands are now already in start-up phase for Australian distribution. Apart from Mr Hughes’ Geely Automobile and Ateco’s Great Wall and Chery, Lifan is has been signed up by China Motor Franchise (Australia).

Lifan’s 520 small car has already received ADR certification for Australian sale, but as GoAuto has reported previously, Lifan sales plans have been shelved until currency problems can be solved.

In China, there are at least 10 other companies making cars, many of them in joint-ventures with foreign car-makers. These include Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation, Beijing Automotive, Dongfeng Motor Corporation, First Automobile Works, Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group and Taijin Automotive Industry.

Brilliance China Auto, BYD Auto and Changfeng Automobile are among others to have risen from state-owned operations.

The Chinese government is encouraging these companies to merge, arguing that it would be better served by about four large motor manufacturers on a global scale.

Privately-owned Geely was founded in 1986 – the same year that Mr Hughes, Mr Fisher and one-time tycoon Alan Bond started importing Hyundais.

Geely originally made refrigerators, but then advanced to motorcycle parts, then motorcycles and finally cars in 1998.

The rapidly expanding Geely started exporting in 2003, but its attempts to enter the US market hit a snag when cars reportedly failed US crash test requirements.

Geely exported about 30,000 cars to South and Latin America, Middle East, Africa and eastern Europe in 2007.

It has spread its manufacturing operations overseas with factories in Russia, the Ukraine and Indonesia, and has announced plans to build a new factory in Mexico to build a mid-sized car for North America.

Despite this, Mr Hughes says all Geely cars for Australia will be built in China for the foreseeable future.

Geely hopes to lift its overseas sales to 1.3 million units by 2015.

The Geely sales venture with Mr Hughes is the company’s second automotive investment in Australia. In March, Geely acquired the troubled Australian transmission maker Drivetrain Systems International (DSI) after Korean owner SsangYong fell into financial troubles.

Mr Hughes said the DSI link with Geely would have no direct connection with Chinese Automobile Distributors, but underlined Geely’s commitment to Australia and the Australian motor industry.

[vztrt]

Next wave is coming.

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...25761500010597

First Great Wall SUV here this year

China’s Great Wall Motors will release its first SUV in Australia in late 2009

17 August 2009

By MARTON PETTENDY

THE first Chinese-built SUV and passenger car to go on sale in Australia will arrive here before the end of this year.

Australian Great Wall Motors distributor Ateco Automotive has confirmed that a midsized crossover wagon based on the Hover H3 and a small five-door based on the China market’s Florid hatchback will go on sale locally in late 2009.

The medium SUV, which will go by the name of X240 in Australia, will go head to head with Ford’s Territory and the Toyota Kluger, while the Florid is yet to be officially named by Ateco but will compete in the booming small-car segment alongside the top-selling Mazda3 and Corolla.

Neither the “economical” Florid nor “well-appointed” X240, which is pictured here in Australian specification on local soil for the first time, have received official Australian Design Rule approval.

However, it is understood that ADR approval for the X240 is imminent following the fitment of a new tailgate with revised tail-lights/reflectors, which were air-freighted from China recently.

Both the X240 and Florid will be joined by single-cab versions of the SA220 and V240 dual-cab utilities that launched the Great Wall brand in Australia and New Zealand in late June, with turbo-diesel versions of both utes to follow.



The Hover H3 was the first Chinese vehicle to be sold in Europe in significant numbers from 2006, and will be joined in the Chinese market’s Hover family by the entry-level 1.3-litre all-wheel-drive Hover M1, the mid-sized Hover M3 and the full-sized Hover H5.

As with the V240 ute, Australia’s X240 wagon will be powered by a Mitsubishi-sourced 4G64-series 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission, but the same Bosch-developed 2.8-litre turbo-diesel that will become available in both Great Wall utes could also become available in Australia’s Hover.

Based on the Toyota 4Runner chassis and using an exterior derived from the 2002 Isuzu Axiom, the 1720kg Hover rides on a 2700mm wheelbase and measures 4620mm long, 1800mm wide and 1710mm high, making it almost as long but narrower than a Toyota Kluger. The Great Wall Hover’s kerb weight is 1720kg.

Ateco says both commercial models are selling as quickly as supplies permit, with 274 sales recorded in July and Great Wall’s 43 dealers in Australia and New Zealand taking orders for more than 300 vehicles during their first full trading month.

It said the result far exceeded its expectations despite a 30 per cent decline in the commercial vehicle segment in July, thanks mainly to the federal government tax concession that, until December 31, allows businesses with an annual turnover of less than $2 million to claim a 50 per cent depreciation of an eligible vehicle’s cost in the first year.

“No one here is getting carried away at this early stage, but we are greatly encouraged by the initial success of Great Wall’s products and the enthusiasm of our dealer network,” said Ateco Automotive managing director Ric Hull.

The entry-level SA220 twin-cab carries a manufacturer’s list price (plus statutory and dealer delivery costs) of $19,990 for ABN holders, while the 2WD version of the more upmarket V240 four-door costs $23,990, or $26,990 in 4x4 guise.

Ateco said super-competitive pricing and top-end features such as leather seat trim in the V240 was a “deal-maker” for many Great Wall ute buyers.

The company said its dealer network would continue to expand as it “works steadily through its appointment processes”.

“The greatest short-term challenge facing existing Great Wall dealers is finding stock for their showrooms as they meet and exceed sales targets months ahead of expectations,” said a Great Wall spokesman.

“Great Wall availability is expected to improve soon as increased orders of freshly produced vehicles enter the country, while dealer willingness to embrace a forward ordering system has helped Ateco to better match supply to actual individual model demand.”

[ltd]

Thanks Daniel, now I'll know what to look out for and to avoid.

[Brendo_GSUte]

Is it just me or does the white one look like its scared of crosing that river! haha also looks like a navara with different front end.

They both look like nissan rip offs... Which to me means that they have ripped off a ute i have no interest in! haha

good luck to em with those power and fuel figures...

[mafiastafcar]

Originally Posted by XR6_190

one word will cover this thing...

AVOID!!!!!

What a seriously out of date death trap this thing will be, and they will sell like hotcakes, just like that other seriously out of date death trap, the Mitsubishi Express van!

Awww, what's wrong with the old Mitzi? They were fine as long as you switched off the aircon up hills and only took them out in dry weather...