First Chinese Cars Entering Australia

[ltd_on20s]

wasn't Hyundai pretty lackluster when they first came onto the market?

+ that foton doesn't look too bad.....

[Franco Cozzo]

All this hoo-haa about 3 star safety rating being abysmal.

My Mum has a 1999 WF Ford Festiva, it has a 1 star safety rating and I've seen a lot of those out on the roads, reliable car, but not very safe.

[vztrt]

Geely’s mid-sizer grabs four stars

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...257952001D353C

Safety thumbs up for Chinese-made Geely EC7 bound for Australia in 2012

25 November 2011

By RON HAMMERTON

THE first Chinese-made Geely car earmarked for national sale in Australia has scored a creditable four-star crash safety result in the latest round of European New Car Assessment Program (ENCAP) results announced this week.

The performance by the Geely EC7 – sold under the Emgrand sub-brand in China – and another Chinese-made car, the MG6 made by the giant SAIC company, was described by ENCAP secretary general Michiel van Ratingen as a milestone in Chinese automotive history.

“It is a clear sign that Chinese car-makers are building on recent experiences and rapidly investing in better vehicle safety.

“Even with the upcoming increased demands, five stars are expected to be within reach soon.”

The Holden Cruze-sized EC7 will become Geely’s first model to be sold in all Australian states when it hits the market in the third quarter of next year.

Perth-based importer for Geely, Chinese Automotive Distributors (CAD), already sells the 1.5-litre Geely MK light sedan in Western Australia, but there are no plans to spread sales of that model to the east of the country due to its lack of electronic stability control (ESC).

That same problem has also torpedoed another Geely model that had been mooted for Australia, the LC Panda mini hatchback, which missed the cut for Australian Design Rule (ADR) certification before ESC fitment became mandatory on all new models on November 1.

The introduction of another Geely car, the CE light hatchback, also has been delayed while Geely engineers develop ESC for export models, and is now expected to arrive after the EC7 next year, about November.

CAD owner John Hughes – a major motor dealer and businessman in Western Australia – said a network of 33 dealers was in place around the country, not just for Geely but also the Chinese-made ZX Auto range of commercial vehicles that are scheduled to arrive in March.

Mr Hughes welcomed the ENCAP four-star rating for the EC7, saying it underlined the advances in quality and safety being made by Chinese companies, Geely in particular.

The European-spec 1.8-litre EC7 sedan – a hatch version is also available – scored a 75 per cent adult protection rating in the ECAP test – better than mainstream European car-maker Renault’s Fluence ZE electric car that also score four stars in the same batch of results.

In the front offset crash test, the EC7’s major shortcoming was major deformation of the driver’s footwell, which tore in places, resulting in a low rating for lower leg protection.

This result was underscored by movement of the brake pedal, which pushed 176mm into the footwell.

In the side barrier test, the EC7 score maximum points, with all body areas well protected, but in the more severe side pole test, chest protection was rated as “weak”.

By most Chinese standards, however, the crash performance was a meritorious effort, especially as the EC7 was designed and engineered before Geely bought Sweden’s automotive safety leader, Volvo AB, from Ford.

Depending on the safety specification of the EC7 for Australia, the European result might be used by Australia’s NCAP engineers to determine the safety rating of the car for this country.

Mr Hughes told GoAuto the EC7 would be highly specified for local sale, offering features such standard leather trim and sat-nav to help elevate it above the “cheap Chinese car” tag.

A six-speed Australian-engineered DSI automatic transmission will be offered as an alternative to the five-speed manual gearbox.

In China, the EC7 is offered with 1.5-litre and 1.8-litre petrol engines, but the larger 102kW/172Nm is the unit set for Australia. Side curtain airbags and ESC will be standard.

The Geely CE hatch – unveiled in concept form in 2008 – will replace the ageing MK in Perth when it goes national in about a year, landing in Australia with a 1.3-litre turbo-charged four-cylinder engine.

A Chinese production CE has already arrived in Australia where it has been shown off to prospective dealers.

In Australia, the only Chinese-built vehicle to score four stars to date is the Great Wall X240 SUV.

Its stablemate, the V240 ute was awarded just two stars, while Chery’s J1 city car got three stars and the J11 compact crossover managed just two stars.

[vztrt]

Foton back in the Australian game

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...257953001D6AAE

Fledgling Gold Coast importer takes on China’s Foton distribution for Australia

25 November 2011
By RON HAMMERTON



A GOLD COAST company today acquired the Australian import rights for the Chinese-made Foton light truck, passenger car and bus range, starting with the full-sized Tunland pick-up in the eastern states in March and continuing with a new-model launch about every six months.

Start-up company FFA Automotive Australia signed on the dotted line with executives of China’s biggest commercial vehicle-maker at the Australian company’s Southport offices this morning, putting Foton’s ambitions for Australia back on track after another independent importer, WMC Group, tore up its memorandum of understanding with Foton in October.

The Foton-WMC arrangement tripped on pricing negotiations for the Tunland ute range, which will be aimed squarely at Japanese rivals including Toyota’s dominant HiLux rather than entry-level Chinese equivalents such as Great Wall Motors and the upcoming ZX Auto franchise.

FFA Automotive – the first national automotive distributor to be based on the Gold Coast – was one of the original three importers in the running for the local Foton distribution rights.

It immediately stepped back into the frame when WMC could not reach a satisfactory agreement with Beijing-based Beiqui Foton Motor – a fully owned subsidiary of one of China’s biggest auto companies, the state-owned Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Company (BAIC), which has joint-ventures with Germany’s Daimler and Korea’s Hyundai.

Negotiations between FFA and Foton have continued for about a month, with pricing on the Tunland range – codenamed P201 – one of the key elements of the final agreement.

FFA dealer relations manager Bob Binks – a long-time motor industry player who worked for both Ford and Nissan before founding a number of major dealerships including Bob Binks Ford in Melbourne and Surfside Auto Group on the Gold Coast – confirmed the deal to GoAuto today, saying the vehicle price was right.

“We are very happy with the deal we have done,” said Mr Binks, who has been an industry consultant since selling out of his dealership interests.

Pricing is expected to start at $30,000 for the base single-cab Tunland powered by a Mitsubishi-sourced 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, ranging higher for dual-cab and diesel variants, putting it firmly in Japanese-brand one-tonner territory and well beyond the Great Wall range topped by the V200 dual-cab diesel 4x4 ute.

FFA is jointly owned by Queenslanders Grant Phelan and Peter Llewellyn.

Mr Binks said Mr Phelan had strong links with Foton, having worked with the Chinese company to import Foton buses for 15 years.

“That’s what this has grown from,” Mr Binks said.

He said FFA was planning to establish an innovative distribution network for Australia, appointing “master dealers” in each capital city, as FFA was too small to handle the full distribution of Foton vehicles.

These master dealers in turn would appoint their own metropolitan retailers. A system of rural representation was still being discussed, but some areas, such as North Queensland, might also get a master dealer.

Mr Binks said master dealers would be established first in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane before the Tunland went on sale in March, and then others would follow from April in Western Australia and South Australia.

The Tunland – a full-sized pick-up about half-way in size between one-tonners such as the Toyota HiLux and American vehicles such as the Ford F-Series and Toyota Tundra – will be offered in a range of body styles, including dual-cab and single-cab, with a choice of 4x4 or 4x2 drivetrains and diesel or petrol engines.

Foton has said it is planning to eventually roll out 10 Tunland variants.

The ute’s premium Cummins ISF 2.8-litre diesel engine – built in a joint-venture plant with Foton next to the ute factory outside Beijing – is said to generate about 120kW of power and 360Nm of torque in its most powerful state of tune (a 90kW version is also available), pitching it directly against the likes of HiLux and Mitsubishi’s Triton.

An unnamed SUV – codenamed U201 – built off the Tunland platform is also expected to land in Australia late next year, while passenger cars – including full electric variants – are due in 2014.

As well, small buses ranging from about nine seats to 25 seats are also on the schedule.

For now, Foton’s Aumark heavy trucks will continue to be imported by Foton Commercial Vehicles Australia, a branch of Western Star Trucks.

“It (FFA) will progressively be a complete franchise, but that will take four or five years to roll out the complete franchise that will include passenger vehicles, as well as electric vehicles,” Mr Binks said.

Australia will wait for Foton’s next-generation passenger vehicles, which - like the Tunland - will be designed for western markets, and pioneer Foton’s electric powertrains that ultimately will spread to commercial vehicles.

FFA hopes to sell 2000 Tunland utes in its first nine months of operation in 2012, starting with an initial batch of 300 vehicles that would arrive in time for the March launch in the three major east coast capitals, where the company envisaged a network of about 15 retail sites.

Mr Binks said the first vehicles for Australian Design Rule (ADR) compliance checks had already come off the line in China and were on their way to Australia.

As GoAuto reported in June, Foton aims to use Australia as a testing ground for the Tunland ahead of its planned roll-out in North America.

Mr Binks said the Tunland name would be used in Australia, as it was in China, in line with the wishes of Foton.

WMC had rejected the name as unsuitable for Australia, and had been aiming to adopt a westernised moniker before the deal fell through.

Sydney-based WMC already imports Chinese Higer buses, and has agreements in place with other Chinese brands JAC and Joylong, with others said to be in the pipeline.

Foton says it has production capacity of a million units a year, with products sold to more than 100 countries through 5000 distributors.

Foton executive deputy general manager Chang Rui recently told The China Daily that while the Tunland would face stiff competition in China from Great Wall Motors, which made up 60 per cent of China's pick-up exports, the positioning would be different.

“Ours is the medium-level in the global market, while the Great Wall is the high-end in the third-tier market,” he said.

“The products are different. Great Wall productions are made in China, but the Tunland is made through efforts between US engine companies, Foton and other foreign partners.”

Alluding to the price negotiation difficulties with WMC, Mr Chang said: “I did receive some complaints from the Australian dealers on the high pricing, but this reflects our strategy that we are targeting the mid- to high-end market, instead of gaining the market by selling cheap.” Tunland sales start in China in January, with exports planned for South Africa, Australia, Chile, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.

[prydey]

obviously there is an abundance of old rodeo bodies in china!!

[SSD-85]

The Australian car market just got even more crowded....

[Paxton]

Originally Posted by Scotty85

The Australian car market just got even more crowded....

Crowded with crap that won't sell.

The only reason that the Great Wall is doing so well, is that the car is backed up with an advertising campaign that makes Holden's VFL, Meat Pies, Kangaroos and Kingswoods commercial look limp wristed. The Cherry Campaign reminded me of the MMAL Commercials from the mid 90's.

Unless they pick up their act, a used Ranger or Fiesta is still a better value prospect than a brand new Geely or Foton.