Yang Jian

Ford Motor Co. appointed Zhu Meijun president of the company’s Lincoln brand in China.

BYD Co., seeking to fast establish a foothold in Europe, disclosed tentative prices on Wednesday for three full electric passenger vehicles to be delivered in six European countries.

The new-vehicle market in China will expand four straight months, with retail volume jumping 23 percent year over year in September, the China Automobile Dealers Association estimates.

China’s electrified-vehicle market took root in 2010 after Beijing rolled out a generous subsidy program. Sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids have expanded at a breathtaking pace ever since. Yet, except for BYD, profits are nowhere in sight for many domestic companies venturing into the EV sector, be they traditional automakers or major EV startups.

Visteon Corp. opened a tech center in the central China city of Wuhan this week to strengthen product development and testing capabilities for automotive customers in the key country. 

Nio, a leading Chinese electric-vehicle startup, opened a plant in Pest in central Hungary to manufacture battery swap stations for EVs delivered in the European market. 

Retail sales of new passenger vehicles in China rose 10 percent in the first 18 days of September after surging 29 percent in August, the China Automobile Dealers Association estimated on Wednesday.

The average backlog at new-vehicle stores in China stood at 44 days in August, unchanged from a month earlier, with showroom traffic curtailed by heat waves and sporadic coronavirus outbreaks in several regions. 

Pickup sales in China continued to rally for the third straight month in August after a two-month lockdown of Shanghai, China’s auto production hub, was lifted at the start of June. 

BYD Co., China’s largest electrified-vehicle manufacturer, plans to open its first overseas passenger vehicle assembly plant in Thailand in 2024 to expend its presence in the Southeast Asian market.

The first shipment of MG’s new electric hatchback, the MG4 Electric, set sail for Europe from Shanghai on Monday, according to SAIC Motor Corp., the Chinese owner of the English car brand MG. 

Sales of used light vehicles in China slid 1.2 percent from a year earlier to below 1.18 million in August, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association.

New-vehicle sales by automakers operating in China rebounded for the third consecutive month in August after Shanghai, the largest domestic city, came out of a two-month lockdown and the central government halved purchase tax on gasoline cars at the start of June.

The Chinese market for new passenger vehicles expanded for the third-straight month in August in an extended rebound, the China Automobile Dealers Association said Thursday. Last month, retail sales of new sedans, crossovers, SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles industrywide jumped 29 percent year on year to top 1.87 million.

Volvo Car Corp.’s China deliveries surged 31 percent year on year to 17,179 vehicles in August.