GUIDO REINKING A nuclear event for China's car plans Guido Reinking The catastrophic showing of the Chinese-produced Brilliance BS6 is the end, for now, of all the plans to successfully market and sell made-in-China vehicles in Europe. Anyone thinking otherwise has lost touch with reality. It wasn't only the midrange sedan from BMW's joint-venture partner that broke apart on that wall in the safety center of Germany's largest auto club. It was also all the dreams of quick success in the demanding, hotly contested European market. Last October in this space, I wrote that Chinese manufacturers weren't likely to get beyond a niche position in Europe. Now I have to correct myself. It's probable they won't even get that far. Chinese companies learn fast. But who would have thought they had so much to learn? This isn't even a question of building a safe car that makes it through the Euro NCAP crash test without jamming the driver between the steering wheel and the seat. That kind of know-how, if you don't have it yourself, can be purchased from service providers like Bertrandt, Porsche Weissach or Magna. But the car business really isn't just engineering. To a growing extent, it is also marketing. Brilliance had the opportunity to enter the market with a neutral image, a stylishly designed car and affordable pricing. Now the brand is starting out with a negatively charged image. That won't change if Brilliance is able to win a three-star NCAP rating with a touched-up BS6 or a smaller model like the BS4. Every Chinese vehicle will be carrying around a blemish for the foreseeable future as a result of the pictures of that collapsed yellow car. It won't be easy to erase. How long did Opel work on improving its tattered quality image? Even though independent studies of the GM brand have long attested to the premium quality it is achieving, it will probably be years before this takes hold in the minds of consumers. In many markets, however, Mercedes-Benz still enjoys an unimpeachable reputation despite its recent quality problems. Brilliance, at all events, ruined its reputation in seconds. In this case, it will likewise take years to move from a negative image into neutral territory. The Chinese would be well-advised to postpone their plans into the next decade. You may e-mail Guido Reinking at greinking@craincom.de  story     • China's Brilliance says crash test won't hurt European sales

Suppliers give Frankfurt a pass Hella, Magna, Beru and Recaro decide against auto show appearance Cost pressures in the supplier industry have reached the Frankfurt auto show. Some major suppliers will stay away from the biennial event in September, including Magna, Hella, Recaro, Beru and the U.S. supplier 3M. Beru, which only had a lounge at the show in 2005, says Frankfurt's costs and benefits are out of balance.  story

VW dealers to take CO2 offensive New 'CO2 package' arms sales staff with information about climate change Volkswagen wants to take the offensive in the carbon dioxide debate. VW's retail marketing unit has started offering dealerships a "CO2 package" containing gasoline-saving tips, a decorative poster and a sales argument to close a deal.  story

Peugeot not planning return to U.S. China, Mercosur region, Eastern Europe and Germany are priorities Christian Streiff, the new CEO of PSA/Peugeot-Citroen, is betting on China, Eastern Europe and South America for the company's international business. But the French automaker won't return to North America in the foreseeable future, says Peugeot brand chief Frédéric Saint-Geours.  story

VDA welcomes EU decision All manufacturers have to cut CO2; Porsche says 2012 is too early The VDA, the German auto industry association, is welcoming a decision by EU environment ministers to require even subcompact manufacturers to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The ruling would spread the task of meeting CO2 reduction goals among makers of small and luxury autos.  story

VW to price new coupe competitively Passat offshoot expected to keep its distance from the Audi A5, Mercedes CLS According to internal documents obtained by Automobilwoche, VW intends to charge 30,000 euros (about $22,163 at current exchange rates) for a four-door Passat with a 1.8-liter, 160-hp gasoline direct injection engine and a six-speed manual transmission. VW aims for a sticker price of 32,500 euros (about $24,010) for a 2.0-liter, 140-hp turbodiesel Passat with common rail technology.  story

A hand full of trumps Together, Porsche and Volkswagen have the best cards as global player Porsche shareholders at a special meeting on June 26 approved creation of a holding company that CEO Wendelin Wiedeking says could rival Toyota for global dominance. Porsche will not just control its sports car business and its share in Volkswagen through its new entity.  story

Ford more productive than ever Assembly time for Fiesta cut in half within 4 years Nissan may have to start worrying about its long-held position as the most productive automaker in Europe. Ford of Germany has nearly doubled its productivity over the past four years after radical changes in its work structure and manufacturing processes. The most striking progress is visible in the average assembly time for the Cologne-built Fiesta.  story

Bosch's 'light high-tech' targets low-cost cars By 2010, supplier wants to provide components, systems to one-quarter of all low-cost cars We can do it cheap, too, more and more car manufacturers are saying. Tata, an Indian company, plans to introduce the lowest-cost car in the world. It is expected to cost 100,000 rupees, or about 1,825 euros. That price earned it the sobriquet of the "one-lakh car," given that lakh means 100,000 in India.  story

Kroymans rumors elicit 'just a tired smile' Despite the so-called buyer strike and troubles with Cadillac, dealership group intends to keep expanding Kroymans Germany, one of the country's largest dealer groups, has cut its sales goal for this year. "Instead of the 20,000 new and used vehicles that we planned to retail in Germany this year, we are now planning on just 18,500 units," Managing Director Johannes Cuerten told Automobilwoche.  story

VW creates stir with large-customer leasing business Volkswagen wants to bolster its sales of new cars to its large customers with a leasing campaign that has been a contentious issue internally. VW's "Twin Car" program, launched in mid-June, promises "unrivaled favorable leasing terms" for high-volume Polo, Golf, Touran, Eos and Sharan models. It runs until next May.  story

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