This probably shouldn’t come as a surprise but it seems that Chinese consumers are less enthusiastic toward million-dollar cars in a cooling economy.

Christian Mastro, Lamborghini‘s Asia Pacific general manager told Automotive News last friday that economic uncertainty may be causing consumers to hesitate before spending. ”The number of people able to spend this kind of money is limited, it’s not unlimited,” he said.

It’s important to consider that Lamborghini sales jumped 70 percent last year in China. Maintaining such a sales spike in the long run is difficult, if not impossible. From an economic perspective, a slowdown makes sense and should be predictable for Lamborghini considering the Chinese economy cooled to the slowest pace its seen in two years.

That said, the company is still hoping to boost sales by 20 to 30 percent this year. Chinese consumers account for almost 9 percent of the Aventador LP 700-4s sold globally. Furthermore, that portion is absorbed and demand remains for the $1 million car to the tune of an 18-month waiting list.

Lamborghini plans to actively promote their products in an effort to drum up more sales by expanding its dealer network and increasing advertising expenditure by 20 percent. The company also plans to start offering track days to peak new consumer interest. It seems there is still some fight left in the bull.

GALLERY: Lamborghini Aventador

[Source: Automotive News]

Listen kids, if you thought it was tough to get your driver’s license in America, wait until you see China’s test. Sure it’s filled with questions on road laws, dangerous chemicals and safety concerns, but some of these questions are ridiculous.

Traditional true or false sections are replaced with right or wrong statements and some of them make sense, for example:

“When a motorized vehicle breaks down on the expressway, the persons on board should swiftly move to the front of the vehicle for hiding.”

Answer: Wrong.

After looking through the 120 page document of test questions and answers, there are a few that are a bit more puzzling.

One question that shows the strict nature of the driving laws in China states:

“When a motorized vehicle is on the road, the people inside the vehicle are not allowed to stick their heads out of the window but may stretch their hands out of the window.”

Answer: Wrong.

So drivers and passengers may never get the chance to feel the wind blowing through their hands as they drive on a warm summers day… But our heads? Sure!

The sign in the picture means _______.

A. Danger

B. No passing for all motor vehicles

C. No tailgating

D. Accident-prone section

Answer: D

Thanks for the heads up…

[Source: The Globe and Mail]

According to a statement by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), China’s monthly sales of passenger-vehicles suffered its steepest decline in more than seven years due to a Lunar New Year holiday season hiatus that deprived dealers of a week’s worth of sales. Figures indicated that sales fell to 1.16 million units in January, a 24 percent decrease from the year before. According to five analysts from Bloomberg News, sales were projected to drop 18 percent.

Great Wall Securities Co. analyst Ran Fei said, “Even though the actual holidays were five working days, some dealerships took the opportunity to close their stores for a longer time. The numbers are disappointing.” Compounding the auto sales slump in the Chinese market, the Chinese government also estimated that holiday sales at the nation’s main retailers and restaurants rose at their slowest pace since the 2009 financial crisis.

Are these signs an indication that the world’s largest and fastest growing automotive market is showing economic resistance? Despite these statistics, Ran Fei insists that “Car demand is stable. There’s no indication of any changes on that front.” China’s Passenger Car Association also believes that the Chinese economy is fundamentally sound and interprets the auto sales number as a mere holiday season distortion. The Passenger Car Association expects a 30 percent rise in sales for February.

Huatai Securities Co. analyst Chen Liang adds, “Demand is still there and consumers in the smaller, less developed cities will still have a growing need for cars. These numbers don’t change my outlook for the year.”

In January, GM reported an 8 percent decline in China sales, its first Chinese sales decline in six months. Chevrolet sales suffered a 20 percent hit to 54,399 units. According to Ford, its China sales fell a staggering 42 percent last month. Bucking the trend, Luxury German brands BMW and Audi both posted higher sales, enjoying a 30 percent and 23 percent gain respectively.

IHS Automotive Shanghai analyst Namrita Chow provided this explanation, “Prior to the Chinese New Year, Chinese consumers who are looking to enhance their prestige and status symbol have chosen high-end luxury brands.”

[Source: Bloomberg]

What better way to ring in the Chinese new year than with some special edition Aston Martins?

Available only for the Chinese market, 88 special “Dragon88″ models of the V8 Vantage S, Virage, and DBS will be made featuring some Chinese cultural references and iconography.

This news comes right after Rolls-Royce announced that their “Year of the Dragon” Phantom has sold out. It seems that those $1.2-million Phantoms were just right for the Chinese market, and here comes Aston to make a few sales of its own.

The Dragon88 models will be available in three color schemes: Champagne Gold, Volcano Red, and Amethyst Red. Each scheme representing a virtue like wealth and fortune, peace and protection, and “dragon fire.”

Inside, the cars will feature dragon embroidery inspired by the Nine Dragon Wall at Beihai park in Beijing.  Other identifying features include special 10-spoke dragon edition alloy wheels, black brake calipers and a Bang and Olufsen sound system.

Aston Martin has six dealerships in China, and believes that China will be their third biggest market, after U.S. and U.K. in just a few years.

Pricing and availability of the Dragon88 models is likely to be announced in April at the Beijing Auto Show.

[Souce: Jingdaily]

Coda CEO Phil Murtaugh knows a thing or two about the car industry and expects to be selling their cars by the end of the month.

Before taking the reigns at the Los Angeles startup, Murtaugh spent 10 years as the head of GM China. Not surprisingly, his current project takes advantage of the connections he made during that decade by sourcing most of their parts from the country.

It’s a policy that prompted some criticism, though Murtaugh said to the Detroit News that they plan to run a more U.S.-centric operation if they can secure a loan from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Loan program.

As for the car, customers can head to the company site to peruse options for the as-of-yet unnamed vehicle.

There’s lots to look at, but frankly we’re still scratching our heads a little on this one. The Coda, as it’s simply referred to on the site, can run for a 150 mile range, sure, but at $39,900 it seems like a tough sell next to the Nissan Leaf’s $35,200 tag, before tax credits.

It’s also hideous. The thing seems to take styling cues from late 90′s that are bland enough to make a Camry seem exotic.

It’s hard to look past the fact that the same cash could buy you a car that doesn’t look completely out of date.

The Coda also only has about 143 horsepower and is electronically limited to 85 mph. We wish the company luck, but it looks like they’ll need a lot more than that to push products.

[Source: Detroit News]

We have to give credit where credit is due. One thing that the Chinese automakers are clearly excelling at is perfecting the art of copying existing vehicles. The newest victim is the Ford F-150 which JAC Motors out in China has just pulled off with surprising accuracy.

Set to debut in April at the Beijing Motor Show, the JAC 4R3 looks almost identical to the Ford F-150 SuperCrew from bumper to bumper. What’s worse is that JAC is not one of Ford’s partners. What’s most humorous is that the 4R3 will be powered by a 2.8-liter diesel engine with just 108 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque. The 4R3 obviously won’t warrant the same heavy duty work as the F-150 and is probably lighter weight which allows it to get away with such a weak powerplant.

What’s next from the Chinese automakers? A clone of a Rolls-Royce Phantom?

GALLERY: JAC 4R3

[Source: Auto Home]

BMW is cashing in on the chauffeur craze in China by offering a stretched version of the 3-Series exclusively to Chinese customers.

The longer wheelbase sedan will be sold as a 335Li, and will offer more legroom to Chinese consumers who want to be driven around but can’t afford a legitimate chauffeur car like  Bentley or Rolls-Royce.

It might sound ridiculous that the mild-mannered 3-Series would merit a hired driver, but Audi has actually been advancing Chinese sales by offering the A6L and A4L sedans with “L” signifying the longer version.

The 335Li fits between the two Audi cars in terms of rear-seat legroom according to China Car Times. Chinese customers will be able to buy the car later this year, though it won’t be offered anywhere else in the world. That would have meant a lot of extra work on BMW’s part until recently. The German automaker will manufacture their Chinese 3-Series cars in partnership with Brilliance, a company they have worked with on several projects in the past.

[Source: China Car Times]

When GM sold 9.03 million vehicles globally to become the world’s largest automaker of 2011, a great deal of the American automaker’s success came down to its dominant popularity in the Chinese market.

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), the best selling car in China for 2011 was the Buick Excelle. While it has been reported China sold 253,514 Excelles while only 177,633 Buick cars and SUVs were sold in the United States, confusion with Buick’s naming system revealed that the hot Buick Excelle isn’t the same as the Buick Verano sold stateside as we presumed. Oddly, the Buick line-up offers a total of three unique Excelles. Of the three, it’s the oldest generation model based on a dated Daewoo design that earned the most amount of sales. Powered by an engine designed by Holden, this particular Excelle is also known as the Kai Yue and was last given a face lift in 2008.

The second and third Chinese market Excelles are known as the Ying Lang. Using Opel Astra architecture, the hatchback Ying Lang XT and the Verano sedan variant, Ying Lang GT, only sold a combined 8,381 units during December 2011 when the older Kai Yue model sold 13,846 units in the same month.

Much of its popularity is due to its competitive pricing. At just 100,000 renminbi, or $15k USD, the Kai Yue Excelle is the gateway vehicle into China’s coveted Buick Owner’s Club.

GALLERY: Buick Excelle

[Source: China Car Times]

China is the new land of opportunity as businessmen gain newfound wealth from its booming economy. However, some have learned the hard way that money cannot buy happiness.

Last week, a Porsche owner was upset that his Cayenne SUV, worth a reported 2.7 million yuan, suffered a string of problems during the 2 months he owned it. Claiming that the serious problem nearly caused him to crash on two occasions, the Porsche dealership of Shenzhen agreed to fix the vehicle. Unfortunately, the problem inexplicably continued to resurface.

Although the Porsche dealer offered the owner to swap for another Cayenne, the owner demanded his money back instead. Eventually, the Shenzhen Porsche dealer submitted to the Cayenne owner’s demands under the condition that he sign a confidentiality agreement and to not disclose why he returned his Porsche. However, the agreement fell through and the Porsche dealership chose not to take back the lemon Cayenne after all. Taking matters into his own hands, the Cayenne owner decided to return his Cayenne on a flatbed truck and staged a loud protest right outside the dealer doors.

While the situation is certainly negative publicity, a senior executive from a premium car brand believes that incidents like this one would barely affect sales. As the Chinese economy continues to prosper, the demand for high luxury vehicles will not slow down.

Last year, a similar protest story involved a disgruntled Lamborghini Gallardo owner that hired a bunch of men to publicly destroy his defective Italian sports car on China’s World Consumer Rights Day.

[Source: China Car Times]

RUF, known for their amazing Porsche creations, looks to have beaten Porsche at creating the rumored long-wheelbase Panamera for the Chinese market.

The tuning specialist decided to take matters into their own hands, creating the Panamera XL, a 211.4-inch long Panamera aimed at the higher-end Chinese market for those who wish to be chauffeured around in true style. The Panamera’s wheelbase has been extended 15.7-inches making it 130.7-inches and the result is one comfortable business lounge for the Chinese fortunate enough to own one.

It comes at a price though, as the stretched Panamera now weighs in at an astonishing 4,321-lbs. It’s still powered by the V8 engine with 414-hp and 376 lb-ft of torque.

GALLERY: RUF Porsche Panamera XL

[Source: Carscoop]

Don’t head to the optometrist just yet. If the parking lot outside the California Pizza Kitchen and P.F. Chang’s seems particularly crowded with Mercedes-Benz SUVs, you’re probably seeing just fine.

The company had some good news to release with the new year, they managed to surpass the 2 million SUVs sales mark. According to a press release, the company enjoyed significant growth in SUV sales in 2011 thanks to the U.S. and China. SUV sales were up 24.3 percent compared to 2010 and additionally the company saw a 23.5 percent sales spike in November.

“With the launch of our first sport utility vehicle – the G‑Class – more than 30 years ago, we entered a segment in which we are now very successful with a total of five models. The SUVs today are an important pillar of Mercedes-Benz’s growth and have regularly posted a new sales record in every month since July 2010,” Joachim Schmidt, Mercedes’ head of sales and marketing, said.

While it may have taken the company 30 years to reach that number, luxury SUVs have really only been making a splash since the late 90′s with the introduction of the ML-Class. It may be easy to forget the rocky debut they had, but had some serous struggles making them a success. Questionable assembly and poor reliability in the not-so-distant past might still have some buyers feeling wary.

Nevertheless, it seems that suburban soccer moms and the expanding Chinese hunger for luxury cars is fuelling growth even with a shaky world economy. The R-Class boasted the biggest spurt with 50.3 percent sales growth this year, while the M-Class squeaked out 15.8 percent despite a model change.

Mercedes-Benz is still proud despite the M-Class taking last place in growth, calling it the latest star in their family. That pride comes part in parcel with the SUV having best fuel efficiency in its segment and receiving a five-star rating by the European New Car Assessment Programme for its safety.

Despite the accolades, we weren’t particularly impressed with the 2012 M-Class. It’s not to say we hated it, but the new model isn’t much to write home about either. Mild improvements thanks to direct injection and a scrapped hydraulic steering system were nice, but less than revolutionary. Mercedes-Benz isn’t falling short, but they didn’t jump ahead of the pack with this one either.

Click here to read Autoguide’s 2012 Mercedes ML350 Review

Things aren’t just “made in China” anymore, in fact the country’s surging economy is significantly supporting industries like the luxury car market. BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and more are all aiming their crosshairs at the Chinese economy, hoping it can be the saving angel capable of salvaging growth.

That’s still likely to be the case, though not with the breakneck speed we saw a year ago when light vehicle sales grew 33 percent. China is taking steps to shush their screaming economy by restricting residential property purchases in an effort to avoid a housing bubble. Despite that, IHS Automotive and LMC expect car sales to grow between eight and 10 percent next year.

That growth will be slower thanks to restrictions and disappearing subsidies. The Chinese government removed incentives after 2010 meant to encourage new car buyers into the market while Beijing, this year, imposed a strict quota on new car purchases to cut down on traffic congestion and pollution.

Despite that impediment, Chinese car sales are still expected to grow, which is good news for luxury car makers. Demand for German luxury cars is actually eclipsing the European market, which traditionally consumes the most. With money looking tight across the globe, a 10 percent growth margin is sure to look good for any automaker.

[Source: Automotive News]

China is the largest automobile market in the world, but as of right now it is all of the import brands who are primarily profitting from this. The Chinese government is now saying it will outline a plan to make sure that domestic brands such as Geely, Great Wall and BYD get their fair share of the market as well.

The problem in China is that the domestic auto manufacturers have yet to produce a product which stands up to the same quality and luxury of all the established import brands such as Volkswagen or Toyota. In the light car market the domestics have some power over the imports, but when it comes to luxury cars, SUV’s or anything other than tiny city cars the chinese automakers can not compete with German giants like Audi and Mercedes-Benz.

In an effort to encourage new energy vehicles, the chinese government says it will curb the amount of investment in gasoline powered cars and auto plants and encourage foreign investment into electric vehicles.

The current shift in thinking is aimed at making Chinese automakers more competitive on a global scale and driving more money back into the countries economy. The new regulations will probably include higher tariffs on imported goods and fewer tax breaks for import brand companies. The new rules will come into effect on January, 30th 2012.

[Source: Yahoo News]

German luxury titans Audi and BMW are migrating to a new battlefield in hopes of growing their brands despite domestic debt worries.

According to Jenny Gu, a Shanghai- based analyst at research firm LMC Automotive, the number of luxury cars sold in China for 2011 may  increase by 39 percent to 939,000, overtaking Germany by 25,000.

That 2.7 percent margin might not seem like a lot, but Europe as a whole is on a downswing for premium products. China, on the other hand, is growing rapidly. Gu expects Chinese sales to increase 16 percent next year, eclipsing the forecast 4.4 percent for Germany.

“Luxury car demand is still on the rise in China with low penetration rates,” Gu said to Bloomberg. “Sales of such cars in developed markets like Germany fluctuate together with the economic cycle.”

Despite BMW’s lead as the largest luxury manufacturer worldwide, Audi actually beats them in China— something they hope will boost them toward their goal to beat Bimmer for the top spot by 2015.

While it sure isn’t over until the lederhosen-laden fat lady sings, this year might serve as an indicator of things to come. Audi enjoyed a meteoric 69 percent sales spike in China this year, as compared to Mercedes-Benz‘ 24 percent and BMW with a measly 9.8 percent growth.

Those numbers seem to have BMW and Mercedes scrambling, both automakers will keep their plants open an additional week this year by limiting holiday closures. Audi, on the other hand, will enjoy the full two weeks that the other two have forgone for a second year running.

Though some analysts are predicting a softening in the Chinese market thanks to stricter mortgage regulation, Olaf Kastner, CEO of BMW’s Chinese venture, Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. doesn’t seem concerned.

“The premium car industry has enjoyed over the past two to three years an amazing growth,” Kastner said to Bloomberg. “We still, in the premium segment, will see a higher growth rate than the mass segment” for next year.

[Source: Automotive News]

Despite the majority of auto manufacturers reporting record sales and earnings this year thanks to a healthy Chinese market, the future in China may not be as bright as it was in 2011.

China as a whole is dealing with some tough economic factors with their stock market down, real estate prices dropping and now the prices of luxury cars from German manufacturers Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are selling for way below MSRP. The average price of a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C200 were sold at 16-percent below MSRP at Chinese dealerships, a continual decline from the 14-percent below in October and 3.4-percent below in July. BMW on the other hand, sold their 320i sedan 11-percent below the suggested price, more than triple the initial discount for the 2011 model.

Despite this, Audi posted a 69-percent increase in China deliveries to 29,861 units while BMW had a 9.8-percent increase in sales in China while Mercedes-Benz increased deliveries by 24-percent. But 2011′s growth in China will most certainly not replicate itself in the future to come, which could prove troublesome to many of the manufacturers that are currently undergoing big capacity expansions.

[Source: The Truth About Cars]

BMW is pushing forward in the face of what many economists are fervently discussing in the business world: the possible collapse of the euro.

Such a catastrophic event is unlikely, BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer told Automotive News. He reaffirmed that strong belief in another interview saying ”I don’t even want to imagine that at all, and I don’t believe it will happen.” In fact, BMW is planning significant expansion.

The company is intends to increase sales by 25 percent despite the fact that research group IHS Automotive forecasts as much as a 41 percent overcapacity for vehicles in Europe. Regardless of softening sales in the European market, BMW remained the top luxury car manufacturer this year and is planning to expand on their 1.6 million unit sales for 2011 to a whopping 2 million by 2020.

They plan to achieve that goal by further expanding into the international market. Part of that plan involves setting up a factory in Brazil, but more significantly, BMW is eyeing the growing Chinese market.

Proportionally, Chinese consumers drive about the same number of economy cars as Europeans, but the difference is that Reithofer says 75 percent of Chinese economy car owners want to upgrade for their next purchase.

“In 2012, the BMW brand will have the youngest model range of all of our core competitors by far,” Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer told reporters on Thursday evening at an event in Munich. It’s something he hopes will entice the young and increasingly wealthy Chinese market segment.

If it turns out that BMW is being too aggressive in their expansion, they can scale back produciton by 20 to 30 percent according to Frank-Peter Arndt, BMW’s production chief.

[Source: Automotive News]

China has recently become one of the biggest markets in the world. They are buying more new cars than any other nation and just about every brand that wishes to become successful opens up a dealer network in this developing market.

One of the biggest benefactors has been the American auto industry, with marques like Buick selling more cars in China than even the U.S. Now that will likely change.

As a result of trade spats between these two nations, China will impose duties on all U.S. made vehicles as of tomorrow, as stated on their Commerce Ministry website. The duties will range from 2% to 21.5%.

In what the Chinese are calling an “Anti-dumping” act, vehicles made by General Motors will face between 8.9% and 12.9% duties. Vehicles made by Chrysler will range from paying 6.2% to 8.8%, while U.S. built BMW and Mercedes-Benz vehicles will face 2.0% to 2.7% duties.

The Chinese ministry says the U.S. built vehicles had thus far enjoyed subsidies, but they are now causing damage to their domestically produced vehicles. These new duties will stay in effect for two-years, at which point they could be removed or re-instated.

Could this be the start of a new trade war? Very possibly yes.

[Source: Automotive News]

General Motors was happy to report that their sales in China during November rose at its fastest pace all year, thanks to deliveries of Wuling light trucks and Buick Excelle sedans. Deliveries to dealers in China last month rose 20-percent (to 237,130) compared to a year ago.

After cutting prices on Wuling light trucks, sales of mini-commercial vehicles and sedans at SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co. jumped 40-percent. GM now has their sight set on passing Toyota in global annual sales. While this was great news for GM, Ford and Honda are both reporting a decline in deliveries last month in China.

Ford’s sales in China fell 7-percent in November to 43,338 units with a 19-percent decline in deliveries at its joint commercial-vehicle venture. Honda on the other hand, sold 58,228 vehicles in China last month which is still 3.3-percent fewer than a year earlier. Overall deliveries decreased by 8.4-percent over the course of this year.

It’s worth noting that overall demand in China has decreased in 2011 compared to 2010, when auto sales surged 32-percent to 18.06 million vehicles. Still, GM is relying on the vastly large Chinese market to offset the continually shrinking European market.

[Source: Automotive News]

Given the rapid rate of growth in China, luxury automakers are falling all over themselves in an effort to boost capacity to keep up with demand.

Audi, amongst the longest established of German luxury car makers in China (FAW was assembling versions of the original Aero Audi 100 model as far back as the 1980s), has said that it plans to build a new factory in Foshan, in Southern China. Said facility will reportedly have a capacity to produce between 150,000 and 200,000 units annually. Combined with production at the existing FAW-VW Changchun facility (which currently assembles the Q5, A4 and A6), that should help boost total Chinese Audi production to some 700,000 vehicles annually.

Audi’s Chief Executive, Rupert Stadler, in response to the announcement, stated, “we want to clearly expand our presence in China and further strengthen our strategic partnership” and the “[new] factory is a milestone in our long-term growth strategy in China.”

[Source: Bloomberg]

Volvo‘s Chief Executive, Stefan Jacoby, has said that the company plans to add some 10,000 additional employees to the workforce in the next decade; currently Volvo employs some 25,000 people worldwide.

Perhaps not surprisingly the vast majority of new positions will be in China, where Volvo plans to reach annual sales targets of some 200,000 units by 2020 (current levels are around 48,000 per annum).

In order to handle the projected growth, Volvo is planning to open up a manufacturing facility in Chengdu in 2013, which will boast some 3,000 employees and a maximum capacity of some 150,000 vehicles per year; a second plant is also planned, pending approval from the Chinese government.

According to Jacoby, despite the current economic crisis in Europe, Volvo hasn’t reported a slowdown because of it, since its biggest markets are  Scandinavia and Germany where demand is steady and sales in southern Europe have always been marginal. “Our [order] books are filled up until spring 2012,” Jacoby said in a recent statement.

[Source: Automotive News]

BMWs in certain markets may be getting a “Made In China” code in their VIN numbers starting at the end of 2011, as the company plans to export Chinese made 5-Series sedans to certain markets.

The Truth About Cars quotes the CEO of BMW’s Chinese operations as stating “We will find some markets, maybe in the Middle East, somewhere in Asia, or some other markets that welcome the products where we can test this export effort. The main market of course is here (in China), because we can’t even supply enough here.”

The 5-Series is built in China as part of a joint venture with Brilliance. TTAC’s China expert Bertel Schmitt claims that the quality of cars built in Chinese/foreign joint ventures is no worse than vehicles built in Japan, America or any other country (and sometimes better). The 5-Series is a popular vehicle in China, with a long-wheelbase version regarded as a status symbol for wealthy Chinese who can afford a driver.

[Source: The Truth About Cars]

Fiat will build Alfa Romeo vehicles in China starting in July, 2012, as part of a joint venture with local partner Guanhzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd.

Company president Zeng Qinghong told Automotive News that ”Besides the Fiat brand, after talks between the two shareholders, we will introduce the Alfa Romeo brand to the venture company.”  No timetable was given for when the vehicles would go on sale, but the new venture would be dubbed Guangqi Fiat.

Guangqi Fiat will initially produce 140,000 vehicles annually, and will likely expand beyond just Fiat and Alfa Romeo cars. Fiat has large interests in commercial vehicles, trucks and other vehicles. Alfa Romeo will also have to compete in an increasingly crowded premium vehicle segment in China.

[Source: Automotive News]

Reports from the Guangzhou Auto Show state that the Chevrolet Volt has been approved for sale in China with a starting price of 498,000 yuan, or $73, 800 USD.

TTAC’s resident expert on China, Bertel Schmitt, astutely remarked that the kind of subsidies we see on our shores for the Volt are “…for made-in China vehicles only…” which could be why the Volt is priced so high in China. We’ll wait on an official announcement before passing judgement.

[Source: The Truth About Cars]

How’s this for an incentive – buy an apartment, get a BMW thrown in to the deal. Sounds pretty sweet, and a city in China is doing just that in hopes of giving its real estate sector a jump start.

In Wenzhou, China, the house prices have fallen dramatically, and one real estate developer is giving apartment buyers at a new residential complex a BMW. The deal is only available to the first 150 buyers, so interested new home shoppers will have to jump on the promotion sooner rather than later. In terms of money spent, the BMWs cost the developer Rmb 300,000, which equates to about 10 per cent of the price for an apartment. We don’t know which BMW model buyers will receive, but a free BMW is always a sweet deal.

The BMW incentive is a telling sign of China’s real estate market. And Chinese developers don’t want to cut prices on their products, so instead they have started throwing in extras, such as extra garden plots, Louis Vuitton handbags, cruise vacations and cars.

Do you think the North American real estate market should offer similar incentives to sell property? Would you buy a house or condo if a BMW or any car was thrown into the deal? Let us know in the comments section below.

[Source: Financial Times]