Great Wall Motors Co, China’s biggest maker of sport utility vehicles (SUVs), introduced a compact pickup truck to the UK, becoming the first Chinese automotive brand to enter the British market. The Great Wall Wingle, rebranded the Steed for the British market, also became the cheapest pickup truck in the market. It is being sold in Britain by International Motors, whose Great Wall UK Director, Paul Hegarty, said the Steed’s key selling point is value. Offered nationwide through 40 appointed dealers, the vehicle comes in two versions: the Steed S for GBP14,000 and the Steed SE for GBP16,000. Hegarty said the vehicle’s value is shown in details such as Bluetooth connectivity, heated seats and a full leather interior. Great Wall exports vehicles wholly manufactured in China. Chinese car maker Geely will make a debut in Britain this year with the Emgrand EC7, to be sold through its British distributor Manganese Bronze Holdings. Great Wall, founded in Baoding, Hebei province, in 1976, has been China’s largest exporter of vehicles by volume and revenue since 1998. With a sales network covering more than 100 countries, Great Wall sold 85,000 vehicles abroad last year, up 50% year-on-year. About 120,000 Wingle pickups are sold in China each year, and 700,000 have been sold since it was introduced in 2006. Hegarty said the next step is to introduce a Great Wall SUV to the British market. Great Wall announced the opening of a factory in Bulgaria in partnership with the local company Litex Motors in February. The plant, aimed at supplying Eastern European markets, has a planned annual capacity of 50,000 cars, the China Daily reports.

Ford will invest USD760 million to build a new plant in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, as part of a drive to catch up with global rivals. Ford and joint venture partner Changan Ford Mazda Automobile would start construction later this year and the plant would open in 2015, initially producing 250,000 vehicles a year. The new plant  will help the company double capacity to reach 1.2 million vehicles by 2015. Ford said the move is part of the company’s “largest expansion in 50 years”, aimed at boosting global sales by 50% from 2010 to about 8 million vehicles a year by mid-decade. Ford formed its first joint venture in China only just over a decade ago, while VW has been producing cars in China since the 1980s. GM and VW each produced more than 2 million vehicles in China last year. Ford also said it would invest USD600 million to expand capacity at its facility in Chongqing, the largest manufacturing base for the company outside its home in Michigan, U.S. The company said it would bring 15 new vehicles and 20 new powertrains to China by 2015, increasing the company’s relatively limited product range available in China. The latest investment brings Ford’s total investment in China to USD4.9 billion. Ford has less than 3% of the market.

Ford Motor unveiled a three-cylinder mini-SUV, Lamborghini revealed its first sports utility vehicle in decades and Chrysler showed a dragon-theme Jeep, as carmakers introduced models designed for Chinese buyers at the Beijing Auto China 2012. Ford’s latest SUV, the scaled-down EcoSport with a one-liter engine, will be manufactured at Ford’s main China factory in Chongqing. Lamborghini Chief Executive Stephan Winkelmann said the company saw potential sales of 3,000 vehicles a year for the SUV. A final decision to produce the vehicle had not been made. Nissan, Toyota and other carmakers also used the event to show luxury cars and SUVs aimed at Chinese buyers. Chrysler said it would sell a dragon-themed Jeep, with golden accents and dragon designs on headrests and elsewhere. “To be successful in China, we must tailor our vehicles to the specific tastes of Chinese customers,” said Mike Manley, Chrysler’s COO for Asia. Japan’s Infiniti rolled out a new luxury car with a bigger back seat for Chinese businesspeople. Also on show was a display model of the first car from an electric-vehicle joint venture between Daimler and China’s BYD. “The products that we are building today globally have a lot more attention paid to what the customer needs in China,” said Kevin Wale, President of General Motors’ China unit. GM sells a Cadillac in China with a four-cylinder, two-liter engine to meet demand from local buyers for smaller engines, Wale said. “Nowhere else in the world would it have been done,” he said. Carmakers are targeting both ends of the market, with luxury models for newly rich urban Chinese and economy models for low-income earners. Jaguar Land Rover unveiled a Range Rover Evoque Special Edition four-seat coupe – co-designed by Victoria Beckham – with 20-inch gloss black forged-alloy wheels, rose-gold-plated accents and mohair mats.

German vehicle parts supplier Brose Group said that China’s new regulation governing antitrap features for car power windows offers an opportunity for the company to further develop in China, which will be its largest single-country market by 2015. “China already accounted for 18% of our global revenue in 2011. The country will definitely overtake North America to be our second-largest regional market, only behind Europe, and our biggest country market, by 2015,” said Thomas Spangler, President Asia and Member of the Executive Board of Brose Group. “Till then, revenue from China will contribute at least 20% of our global business.” The Chinese government’s new window regulation, which took effect on January 1, is similar to European technical standards requiring anti-trap technology with a maximum closing force of 100 Newtons for window regulators that have automatic “up” functions or remote control-window closing. As the inventor of anti-trap features for power window regulators, Brose supplies almost all international vehicle makers with 30 million electronic components annually, and 7.5 million of those are fitted in cars in China. It has five manufacturing bases in China. In 2011, the company’s revenue reached CNY5.4 billion in China, up 21% year-on-year. According to Spangler, Brose targets sales in China this year equivalent to €687 million. Manually cranked windows are becoming less common, as power window regulators have become almost standard for passenger vehicles, at least in mid-sized and larger cars. About 80% of all vehicles in China are equipped with power window regulators and the proportion is increasing. China’s new rule requires the window to stop and reverse if more than 100 Newtons of closing force is exerted. Without anti-trap features, forces of up to 400 Newtons are exerted, the China Daily reports.

When the first Beijing International Automotive Exhibition was held 22 years ago, 216 motor vehicles were on display, including motorcycles. This year a record-high 1,125 vehicles from carmakers were showcased. 36 vehicles made by foreign carmakers and 84 cars by domestic manufacturers made their global premieres. The exhibition closed on May 2. The total exhibition area was a record as well ― an all-time high of 230,000 square meters. Volkswagen Group booked an entire hall of more than 9,600 sq m to showcase models under its eight brands Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborgini, SEAT, Skoda and Porsche. Thirty-one Volkswagen-branded models ― including the E-Bugster electric car, Cross Coupe and new Lavida making their global debuts in China ― were on display. Ford has promised to bring 15 new models to China before 2015. At the Beijing Auto Show it showed a rich lineup led by the all-new Focus and its three latest SUVs. Absent from the last Beijing Auto Show, Italian carmaker Fiat returned to the stage this year with the global debut of the Viaggio, the first model to be produced at its joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group. Anhui-based Chery Automobile Co showed 20 models at the auto show, including three models making their global premieres. The Cowin 5, Riich G2 and new Eastar, which augment Chery’s classic product portfolio of the Tiggo, QQ, A3 and G3, represent the carmaker’s increasing competitive strength. The company also showcased two new concept vehicles: the SUV TX and the energy concept @ant. BAIC Group, the partner of Daimler and Hyundai, debuted the first mid-sized sedan carrying its wholly owned Beijing marque. Almost all major car makers showed their SUVs at the exhibition. Domestic carmakers Geely and Chang’an launched their first-ever SUVs. In all, about 30 new SUV models are expected to join the marketplace this year to cash in on the booming segment.

Some 88 new-energy vehicles also appeared at the Beijing Auto Show. SAIC Motor displayed the Roewe 550 plug-in hybrid that will be put into volume production this year. The pure-electric Roewe E50 made its first public appearance. Victoria Beckham flew to Beijing to launch a limited edition Range Rover Evoque bearing her name with “ultra-luxurious” floor mats, a four-piece luggage set and tan seats. Seat, the VW-owned brand which faces a collapsed car market in Spain, dispatched its entire board to China during the exhibition, where they fanned out across several cities to attend dealership openings and launch the marque. VW says it is opening dealerships in China at the rate of two a week. BMW is adding at least one dealership a week there and will have 350 by the end of the year, the same number as in the U.S. Last year new car sales in China totaled 18.5 million units, retaining the country’s top position for the third consecutive year, but growth slowed to 2.5% from strong double-digit growth in 2009 and 2010. In the first quarter this year, the numbers actually fell as 1.25% fewer passenger vehicles were sold than in the same period last year, according to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). The rest of the year is expected to be better. Industry consultancy IHS forecasts that passenger vehicle sales in China will increase about 8% this year and LMC Automotive projects 9% growth.