Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of the VW Lavida for China

Shanghai Volkswagen developed the new VW Lavida in China, for China. Now it's made its big debut before the home-market audience in Beijing. Stylistically, the made-in-China design looks oddly dated, quite frankly. The petal-shaped head- and taillamps look like something you might find on a 1990's Korean import and not a newly-minted VW, regardless of origin.

The Lavida's positioned below the new VW Bora (also introduced in Beijing), with a shorter overall length (around 3 inches) but an identical wheelbase, so passenger comfort should be around the same as the larger car. The interior is a blend of familiar VW partsbin stuff with elements that just seem a little odd-looking in a VeeDub, like the silver audio head unit and the silver HVAC knobs set against a healthy dose of woodgrain trim. Power comes from 4-cylinder engines displacing 1.6L or 2.0L, with a six-speed Tiptronic available to handle shifting duties. It may be all-new, but it's also pretty boring.


All photos Copyright ©2008 Bin Chen / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Autoblog Chinese]

The Volkwagen Lavida (or La Vida, perhaps) is VW's China-only sedan that will go into production this summer. The car will be built in China by Shanghai Volkswagen, and could get the Chinese produced 1.4-liter TSI engine as well, but is more likely to come with a 1.8- or 2.0-liter engine.

As a testament to VW's commitment to China, they haven't skimped on the car: it gets the PQ34 platform that sits under other VW Group products like the Bora and A4. Planned as a luxury car that will compete with the Buick Excelle, the car is 100 mm longer than the Bora and has been called a "mini Phaeton" by the Chinese motoring press.

The car's design has some split personalities and a bit of Zelig thrown in. If you look at the grille, it's obviously a VW. If you look anywhere else, well, it could be any number of Asian sedans -- but if you know it's a VW, you can also see VW cues, like the rear door line at the wheel well. Shanghai VW is expected to sell 8,000 Lavidas in the second half of this year.

Thanks for the tip, 21cdb!

[Source: The Tycho]

Chery Automobile Corporation is upending the competition in its home market. The manufacturer leapfrogged a healthy three notches on China's sales ranking list in February, in the process marking the first time a domestic has pushed out a foreign joint-venture to take to the podium.

Cherry shifted 21,000 units last month (an impressive 130-percent increase year-over-year), largely on the strength of GM's their QQ subcompact. The latter, a bargain-priced entry isn't exactly a profit center. Xinhua reports that the automaker earns about 500 yuan profit-- about $62 USD. Still, turning a profit on small cars is a difficult business, be it in China or here in North America.

Regardless, Chery's efforts saw it take third place in overall sales during February behind Shanghai GM and Shanghai Volkswagen. It unseeded another Wolfsburg joint-venture, First Automobile Works/VW.

[Source: Xinhuanet.com]