The Wuling Hongguang, a GM co-production with Wuling, seems like a practical-looking car:
The dimensions are similar to the Toyota RAV4, although curb weight is almost 1,000 lbs less.
Posted on 11/12/2018 4:27:17 PM PST by Zhang Fei
At a near-empty Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) showroom in the Chinese mega city of Chongqing, the store manager is grumbling about his shortage of customers and a lack of bigger, cheaper SUV models popular in the world’s largest auto market.
Even with discounting of as much as 25 percent, his dealership was selling barely a hundred vehicles a month, said the manager surnamed Li. A nearby Nissan (7201.T) dealership was selling about 400 vehicles a month, a store manager there said.
“The sales are simply poor,” Li told Reuters. “Look at the Nissan store next door, they have tens of customers while we just have two.”
An hour’s drive away is Hyundai’s massive $1 billion manufacturing plant, which opened last year with a target to produce 300,000 vehicles per year.
But with sales weak and the Chinese auto market slowing sharply, the factory is running at roughly 30 percent of capacity, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The sources asked not to be identified because the information was not public.
Hyundai, the world’s 5th largest automaker, declined to comment on the Chongqing plant’s production or the showroom’s sales but said it is “closely cooperating” with local partner BAIC (1958.HK) to turn around the China business. BAIC did not respond to requests for comment.
Hyundai’s woes mark a major reversal for the automaker which was an early success story in China as it quickly and cheaply rolled out popular new models into a surging market.
In 2009, Hyundai and partner Kia’s combined sales ranked third in China after General Motors (GM.N) and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE).
The South Korean duo now ranks ninth and its market share in China has more than halved to 4 percent last year, from more than 10 percent at the beginning of this decade.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
thanks. I do not have a plug-in hybrid nor is it a full electric. Bummer.
I was just 6 miles off on the Kia factory. Bigger miss on Hyundai.
At least I know Buicks are made in China are sold in the US.
Sales are off this year, a mere 14 million sold in 2018. Thanks Zhang Fei.
Axon’s Automotive Anorak: China’s best-selling cars
https://www.goodwood.com/grrc/road/news/2018/4/axons-automotive-anorak-chinas-best-selling-cars/
...the world’s best-selling passenger car that you probably hadn’t heard of, the remarkably unremarkable Wuling Hongguang! This forgettable Chinese-built people carrier has been the best-selling passenger car in the ever-expanding Chinese market for some years now, and sure enough, it retains its top slot once again for 2017 with more than 500,000 sold, based on the official new car registration figures that have only recently been released by the appropriate Chinese authorities. With a staggering 28 million new cars registered there last year, China is by far the largest passenger car market in the world, with the stars of the congested roads of Shanghai and Beijing being cars mostly unknown to us outside of the People’s Republic.
Top 10 Chinese auto brands by H1 sales
By Zhu Lingqing | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2018-07-13 06:40
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201807/13/WS5b47d8c4a310796df4df62ab.html
10. Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp Ltd (JAC Motors)
9. Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd (GAC Group)
8. Chery Automobile Co Ltd
7. China FAW Group Corp
6. Great Wall Motor Co Ltd
5. BAIC Motor
4. Dongfeng Motor Co Ltd
3. Geely Auto Group
2. Chongqing Chang’an Automobile Co
1. SAIC Motor Corp Ltd
I used to make fun of the old Hyundais. Then last year we were ready to buy a new 2017 Honda or Nissan.
Test drove them, then tried a Sonata on a whim. We were impressed. Great quality, great warranty and $3-5k less with the discounts and incentives, very happy with the purchase. Much better than the Impala we had previously.
The Wuling Hongguang, a GM co-production with Wuling, seems like a practical-looking car:
The dimensions are similar to the Toyota RAV4, although curb weight is almost 1,000 lbs less.
[Much better than the Impala we had previously.]
I guess if its a difference of 50mpg to 60mpg I'll go with the better looking car.
How is the rear visability with the Ioniq? The rear hatch has a small window that looks like a blind spot nightmare,
I thought they all looked pretty nice, especially that EV.
Its a nifty ride with all the goodies but a little too pricey for me.
I rented the pretty large Santa Fe a few months ago. Got about 28 around town and over 30 mph on the highway.
“ 429 hp and the same stereo as a Roll Royce “
Did you test-drive both?
“ Hyundai really jumped the gun “
Shark?
Interested in a free subscription to Big Dog Choppers and Hot Women?
[“ Hyundai really jumped the gun “
Shark?]
It’s really quite a clonelinke version of Chrysler’s minivans, practical, apparently reasonably priced.
http://www.google.com/search?q=Wuling+Hongguang&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&tbm=isch
Every major car company has plants in China. All “partnered” with a Front company for the Chinese Communist Party. The Front company: IE; Local Partner, is there to steal technology & make sure importation doesn’t happen.
I have a Genesis Coupe 3.8. Zoom!
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![A Chang'an BENNI EV is on display at an auto exhibition in Beijing on Oct 13, 2016. [Photo/VCG]](http://img2.chinadaily.com.cn/images/201807/13/5b47d8c4a310796d8b4b815b.jpeg)