SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile

SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile is a joint venture between General Motors and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) of China and Wuling Automobile Co., Ltd. Based at the Liuzhou, Guangxi small van factory, it is the manufacturer of vehicles sold in China under the Wuling marque and specializes in trucks and van sales in the poorer interior of the country.

Sales in 2005 were 337,188 units, up 43.4 percent from 2004.

Models

* Dragon LZW1010 (to 1998)
* Dragon LZW6320 (to 1998)
* Dragon (from 1998)
* City Breeze (under a Daihatsu Zebra licence)
* Windside
* Light
* Wuling SunshineThe Daewoo Matiz is also sold by Wuling as The Chevrolet Spark Le Chi.

According to a BBC article posted on May 17, 2007, the Wuling Sunshine small minivan had record sales number of 460,000 in 2006. The Wuling Sunshine small van is equipped with a 0.8 liter engine, built using traditional assembly line method, and priced at $3,700 USD each. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6658583.stm BBC NEWS | Business | Cracking China's car market] ]

According to Auto-reporter.net, Wuling is the second largest producer of motor vehicles in China after Volkswagen. [ [http://www.auto-reporter.net/artikel.las?artikel=23086 Auto-Reporter.net – Autoproduction in China straight 45% ] ]

Etsong

The Etsong Automobile Co is a small scale manufacturing concern that comes under the SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile part of SAIC. Based in Qingdao, China, the factory was initially set up by Chinese tobacco company and then owned by the First Automobile Works before moving over to the SAIC group in 2005.

First built in the year 2000 the factory builds a number of Austin Maestro / Montego hybrids under the Etsong Lubao and Etsong Lande nameplates.

Models

* Lande CA1020
* Lande CA6440
* Lubao CA6410
* Lubao CA6410

Export

Wuling mini-trucks were exported in limited numbers to the United States from 2004 to 2005. SGMW USA, a Cobra Motors company, imported and distributed the vehicles. Those trucks were limited to off-road use (i.e. private property), and were primarily marketed as industrial and commercial vehicles. [ [http://www.wulingusa.com/_old/products.htm] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.gmchina.com/english/operations/wuling.htm Introduction from GM China homepage]