Jeremy Clarkson - drives car - Amazing pictures !!!!

Jeremy Clarkson does a round up of Asian car news for us ....
CHINA

In 2006, more than 7.2 million passenger cars were sold in China, more than in Japan and second only to the United States. In 2007 sales have risen 20% to 8.7 Mn.

The demand is met principally by domestic manufacturers, many of them small and state run - now in a significant move, orchestrated by Beijing, to consoldidate the industry , Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC), one of China's largest car groups, and their rival Nanjing Auto (owners of the MG brand) have announced a merger.

SAIC have partnerships with General Motors and Volkswagen and Nanjing will be shedding their partnership with Fiat who are building up their brand with Chery Automobile in the Central province of Ansui but will continue development of trucks and commercial vehicles with Nanjing.

The deal will also unite the two parts of Rover sold last year - SAIC introduced the Roewe 750 to the Chinese market last year based on Rover 75 technology (and plant imported from UK) and is priced to compete with Toyota's locally-made Camry.

SAIC sold 1.25 million vehicles in the first 10 months of 2007 compared with Nanjing Auto's sales of 79,196 vehicles - who have just introduced their uprated MG 7 2 seater sports model.

Plans are in hand apparently to boost UK production and to expand into Europe to develop an international brand and marketplace.

French group PSA, in a joint venture with Dongfeng Motor, sold 200,000 Citroens and Peugeots vehicles in China in 2006, and expect to sell a total of 450,000 units in 2008 and 2009.

JAPAN

Meanwhile for Japanese manufacturers , production is booming , the world's largest car maker , , Toyota built 803,663 cars and light trucks in December , up 9.2% from a year earlier. Honda’s output rose 10 % to 363,046. Toyota global output rose 10 % to 9.018 million vehicles in 2006 with record US $11.8 billion profits - In 2007 they plan for global output of 9.42 million vehicles and sales of 9.34 million units.

Japanese carmakers are looking to boost production overseas to counter currency fluctuations in Europe and the US and to deliver to emerging markets. Toyota opened a factory in St Petersburg, Russia, last week and Nissan will also open one in 2009..

Nissan, the third-largest carmaker, increased global production by 15% to 335,088 last month.

It is worth remembering that number of cars sold worldwide totaling 53 million in 2007 (ish)....also a little reminder for cost conscious tree huggers in the US - Toyota dominates the hybrid car market. 1 out of every 2 hybrids sold last month (Nov) was a Prius. 4 out of every 5 were from Toyota or Lexus.

Honda has retired the Insight and will soon retire the Accord, Nissan limits sales of the Altima Hybrid to only 8 states. Ford offers the Escape/Mariner - soon to be rebadged Mazda Tribute , incidentally this has a ticket of MSRP: $27,260 the equivalent model with standard engine of the same size / trim etc., -MSRP: US $18,770

INDIA

Indias' Tata Group ( Market Cap US$76.3 Bn) is said to be the front runner in the purchase of the Ford Luxury motor vehicle group including Jaguar and Range Rover.They are said to be preferred bidders and have edged out rival Indian manufacturer Mahindra and US private equity group One Equity Partners - Pirelli is currently one of their portfolio.

Tata are also about to introduce the the ‘one lakh car’ (100,000 rupeees approx US$2,500) which could could do for rural Indians what Henry Ford’s Model T did for early-twentieth-century Americans or Andre Citroen’s 2CV did for impoversished rural French farmers after World War II.

This "peoples" car, the brain child of group founder Ratan Tata will be revealed on January 10th the New Delhi Auto Expo motor show.

“I hope to make a contribution to making life safer for them (the masses), said the reclusive tycoon Ratan Tata who refuses to retire.

“That’s what drove me – a man on a two-wheeler with a child standing in front, his wife sitting behind, add to that the wet roads – a family in potential danger,” he said.

Carlos Ghosn of Renault, is also said to be talking to Bajaj Auto,India’s second largest motor cycle manufacturerabout a US$3,000 car (1.2 lakhs) - although this was not a 4 wheelere but would ..."take forward our skills and cost structure as a two and three wheeler manufacturer...under four meters long ... and use a unique breakthrough engine technology” Bajaj said in October they planned to unveil that "technology" at India’s motor show in New Delhi next January. (Which sounds like a lot of bullshit)

Currently the cheapest car on the roads of India is the venerable 23-year old 800cc Maruti Suzuki priced at Rs220,000.

Which probably means more air pollution - a problem which will only get worse as the Government haven't kept pace on the technological front where refineries are concerned - low sulphur content diesel is needed desperately. Not a problem restricted to India.

...and on that bombshell we will now clean his trousers.