Acura TL Becomes First U.S. Model Exported To China By Japanese Luxury Nameplate

acuranews.com ^ | July 27, 2006

[snowsislander]

The first Acura TL performance luxury sedans arrive
earlier this week in port of Shanghai for sale in China.
Designed, developed and assembled in the United States,
the sporty TL is the number one selling Acura model in the
U.S., and will be sold in China alongside the RL luxury sedan.

(Torrance, Calif.) 07/27/2006 -- Acura took a major step forward in its global plans with the export of the first U.S.-made Acura vehicle to China, the company announced today.

Scheduled to go on-sale beginning in September at newly constructed Acura dealerships in key metropolitan areas of China, the first shipment of TL performance luxury sedans was off-loaded at the port of Shanghai earlier this week. Designed, developed and assembled in the United States, the sporty TL is the number one selling Acura model in the U.S., and will be sold alongside the top-of-the-line RL luxury sedan.

"We are excited about Acura's expansion to China this year and look forward to launching the brand in Japan in 2008," said John Mendel, senior vice president automobile operations. "China is one of the fastest growing markets in the world and we are confident that Acura will be at the forefront of China's luxury automobile market."

Sales of three thousand Acura vehicles are projected during the first twelve months of operation.

The Acura TL is assembled exclusively in the United States in Marysville, Ohio and is also exported to Canada and Mexico.

About Acura in the United States:

Acura celebrated its 20th anniversary in the United States on March 27, 2006 and offers a full line of technologically advanced luxury performance vehicles through a nationwide network of more than 260 dealers throughout the United States. The 2007 Acura lineup features five distinctive models, the RL luxury sedan, the TL performance luxury sedan, the TSX sports sedan, the turbo-charged RDX luxury sport utility vehicle and the award-winning MDX luxury SUV. For more information about Acura vehicles, please visit www.acura.com. For media inquiries, please go to www.acuranews.com.

[TypeR]

I thought they don't use the brand "Acura" except for the US market?

[Gay State Conservative]

If they're going to China,they'll have to be fitted with a chip that continuously feeds data to Chinese authorities concerning the occupants' whereabouts,conversations,stops at houses of worship not approved by the General Secretary of the Central Committee....

[snowsislander]

I thought they don't use the brand "Acura" except for the US market?

I looked at their website, and they list telephone numbers for both Canada and for Europe in a Flash presenation at http://www.acura.com:

Acura Canada: (888) 922-8729

Honda Motor Europe, Acura Division: 01753 590590

I don't think Honda uses the brandname Acura in Japan (at least yet); here's what the Wikipedia currently has about the Acura brand:

Acura is a brand name used by the Japanese car manufacturer Honda in the US, Canada and Hong Kong since March 1986 to market luxury automobiles and near-luxury vehicles. The brand was introduced to Mexico in 2004 and the Chinese market in 2006. It is also planned to extend Acura to the Japanese domestic market in 2008. With the Acura brand, Honda is credited with being the first to tap into a market for luxury Japanese cars outside Japan. Before Acura, automobiles from Japan were primarily economical and were seen as reliable above all else.