Shanghai, March 5 (Gasgoo.com) Great Wall Motor CEO Wang Fengying recently proposed that China's government agencies and institutions should buy more low-emission cars as part of the government's effort to boost the market demand for small-engine cars.

"According to the auto industry stimulus plan newly outlined by the government, passenger cars with the engine size below 1.5 liters should have 40% market share and those below 1.0 liters are to have 15 market share, but these goals are not easy to reach," Wang said, as "the sales tax cuts for small cars, effective on Jan. 20, will last only until the end of this year and are not a sustained support for low-emission cars."

As further measures to boost the market demand for small-engine vehicles, she proposed that the government agencies and institutions should buy more low-emission cars than the high-emission ones to set a good example for auto consumers, and that the government should reduce or scrap the sales taxes, road tolls, parking fees, annual inspection fees and other charges levied on small cars.

The CEO of Great Wall Motor said that the government itself should buy more Chinese-brand vehicles and the government's auto-purchase bids should be opened to all carmakers. The stimulus plans also says that Chinese-brand vehicles should have larger market share.

Government officials in China have been using big-engine cars as one of their privileges or as a symbol of status. And most of these official vehicles are imported luxury cars that consume much more money and fuel.

Shanghai, March 16 (Gasgoo.com) Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group Co (GAC) has set up an overall framework with Fiat SpA on forming a 50:50 joint venture to produce and distribute Fiat small cars, Beijing Times reported Monday, citing an informed insider.

Major executives have been selected for the JV, according to the source. Jiang Ping, former deputy general manager of Guangzhou Honda Co and active deputy general manager of GAC, would take charge of the planned venture. Yan Jianming, vice marketing director at Guangzhou Honda, would possibly become new marketing director of the new company.

No executives from Fiat has been decided, said the report. Fiat China said they have nothing to announce at present. 

GAC general manager Zeng Qinghong told reporters last week that a Guangzhou-Fiat joint venture is quite possible.

The Linea and Grande Punto that are now sold in China as imported Fiat models, as well as the Palio that was previously made in Nanjing Fiat, are reported to be produced in the planned venture at the early stage.

Fiat had an initial agreement with Chery Automobile Co to set up a joint venture in the world's second-largest car market, but no further progress has been made.

Shanghai, February 11 (Gasgoo.com) Data from local customs authorities show that Fujian province of southeast China exported and imported $840 million worth of auto parts in 2008, up 27.1% from a year earlier.

The export generated $710 million yuan, up 35.8%, slower than the 64.5% growth of 2007; the import value hit $130 million yuan, down 4.2%, compared with the 89.5% growth of the previous year.

In the January to August period, Fujian's auto-parts export value grew rapidly, with the peak occurring in March when the export earned $100 million, up 2.9% year on year. But in September the export growth slowed down to 7.5% amid the global financial crisis, and in October-December the export saw negative growth.

The province's import of auto parts grew in the February-August period, with April as the peak when the import value hit $20 million, up 81.3% year on year. In September, the import began to fall.

Last year, the general trade contributed $640 million, or 90.4%, to the total auto-parts export value of Fujian province, up 37.9% y/y, and the import value reached $130 million by general trade, falling by 8.2% from 2007 and accounting for 92% of the total imports.

Foreign-invested enterprises exported $260 million worth of the province's auto parts in 2008, rising by 45.7% y/y. Exports by private companies generated $260 million, up 37.2% y/y. Exports by state-run enterprises hit $170 million yuan, up 23.2%.

The imports of foreign-invested companies reached $120 million yuan, falling by 3.7% from 2007 and accounting for 86.8% of the total imports in 2008. Imports of private enterprises hit $20 million, down 1%.

The major destinations of the exports were the ASEAN ($200 mln, +24.9%), U.S. ($80 mln, +11.8%) and EU ($70 mln, +9.9%). The three markets account for 49.5% of the total value of Fujian's auto parts exports in 2008.

Meanwhile, the three major origins of the imports were Japan ($70 mln, +5.4%), U.S. ($20 mln, +6.9%) and Taiwan ($20 mln, -49.1%). The imports from Japan accounted for 52.7% of the total import value.