Yang Jian

Webasto appointed Zhang Lihua acting president of its China operations, effective Feb. 1. Jan Henning Mehlfeldt, the current president of Webasto China, will lead the supplier’s business in Europe.

Stellantis builds and distributes Jeep models at a Chinese joint venture with GAC Motor, while Peugeot and Citroen cars are built and marketed at a partnership with Dongfeng Motor Group.

Jürgen Unser, a senior executive at Volkswagen Group’s joint venture with China FAW Group, will become Audi’s new China president, effective Jan. 1.

Chinese electric-vehicle startup Nio signed up oil giant Royal Dutch Shell to jointly construct battery swap stations for electric vehicles in Europe and China.

Geely Holding Group, the largest private Chinese automaker, plans to launch sales of an electric semitruck in early 2024, expanding its presence in a key commercial vehicle market.

GAC Motor hired Stephane Janin, former design director of concept vehicles at Renault Group, as director of its advanced design center. 

The Chinese market for gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles -- some 414,000 were sold in 2020 -- remains the reserved territory of Toyota and Honda. But the Japanese duopoly that helped popularize hybrids is about to face challenges anew from local automakers.

Volkswagen Group underperformed in the Chinese market in the first nine months with local production severely contained by the global semiconductor chip crunch. 

The new plant, Grammer's 11th in China, will assemble center consoles, armrests and other interior components for locally produced BMW vehicles.

The first product from Renault-Jiangling, Renault Group’s electric-vehicle joint venture with Jiangling, went on sale in China this week.

The Chinese auto industry is not going to restructure anytime soon – even as the government this week began to signal interest in seeing consolidation.

Linda Gao, head of Inalfa Roof System’s China operations, has been made president and CEO of the Dutch automotive roof maker, succeeding Jorg Buchheim.

Electric vehicles will generate 40 percent of annual luxury sales in China by 2030, up from 10 percent now, the brand says.

The major private Chinese light-vehicle manufacturer signed an agreement with Daimler this week to purchase the German automaker’s car factory in Brazil.