General Motors began sales of the first battery-electric vehicle under the Chevrolet brand in China, the Menlo sedan, expanding its electrified vehicle lineup as required by local regulations. 

Honda Motor Co.’s China sales are poised to fall as much as 50 percent this month with three of the company’s key assembly plants in the central China city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic, still idled. 
 

The slowing spread of the coronavirus provides some hope for China's mammoth auto industry. But producers, suppliers and retailers are still struggling to reopen.

Honda Motor Co., one of the few global automakers to buck the sales downturn, appointed its European business chief, Inoue Katsushi, the new head of its China operations, effective April 1. Katsushi will also become a managing officer. 

Mercedes-Benz is extending the contract of China chief Hubertus Troska to the end of 2025, reflecting the brand’s outstanding performance in the key market. 

SAIC-GM-Wuling, General Motors’ light-vehicle joint venture with SAIC, became the first auto manufacturer to build machines to produce face masks, helping China to combat the deadly coronavirus outbreak. 

The viral outbreak that has largely paralyzed China Inc. is making it impossible for automakers and most other industries to normalize operations. Volkswagen Group, the largest carmaker in China, on Monday became the latest to postpone by another week the start of production at a joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp.

GAC and Geely, moving to better protect vehicle occupants from the deadly coronavirus, said the updated air filtration capability will match that of an N95 face mask.

General Motors lost ground in China last month as its two joint ventures both underperformed the overall market. Sales at SAIC-GM, GM’s car joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp., slipped 30 percent to 125,464 in January, according to figures SAIC disclosed last week. 

Geely Automobile deliveries slumped 28 percent to 109,573 last month, with China’s largest domestic automaker losing ground in an overall light-vehicle market that fell 20 percent. 

New-vehicle sales in China declined 18 percent to 1.94 million in January as the early Lunar New Year holiday and worries over the spread of the deadly coronavirus curbed showroom traffic and dealer orders, signaling the industry’s two-year slide will continue in 2020.

The deadly coronavirus that has plagued China for weeks continues to hamper new-vehicle sales as dealers struggle to resume operations. Only 20 percent of China’s auto dealerships have reopened as of Tuesday, the China Automobile Dealers Association said, citing results of a survey of 2,895 franchised stores across the country. 

Sales at BYD Co., China’s largest electrified vehicle maker, slumped 43 percent to 25,173 vehicles in January due mainly to the Lunar New Year holiday and steep cuts in electrified vehicle subsidies last year. 
 

Volkswagen Group said it planned to restart production at six of 14 assembly plants it runs with local partners in China on Monday, signaling the coronavirus outbreak is crimping supply chains and the availability of employees.

Chinese automakers BYD Co. and GAC Motor Co. are preparing to produce face masks and disinfectants to help motorists and the public ward off the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in China.