The Shanghai Auto Show marks the Chinese debut of luxury British brand Aston Martin’s high-performance brand AMR

• Asia show debut for Rapide AMR
• Aston Martin underlines commitment to the Chinese market
• Launch of Limited V8 Vantage S Great Britain Edition

The Shanghai Auto Show marks the Chinese debut of luxury British brand Aston Martin’s high-performance brand AMR, bringing a new dimension of race inspired dynamism and performance.

Reflecting Aston Martin’s racing pedigree, AMR takes technology and inspiration from motorsport to amplify the sporting prowess present across the model range. With enhanced performance, sharper dynamics and more powerful design language, AMR takes Aston Martin’s road cars to new and exciting extremes.

Making its Asia debut, the Rapide AMR represents the first tier of AMR, enhancing the four-door sports car with a comprehensive suite of power, chassis and styling upgrades, plus a spectacular new interior treatment.

AMR Pro is the pinnacle; an uncompromising demonstration of AMR’s ‘Track to Tarmac’ philosophy whereby race technology is transferred to road cars.

Aston Martin President and CEO, Dr Andy Palmer said: “AMR is something we have wanted to bring to fruition for some time. Cars such as the Vantage GT8 and Vantage GT12 confirmed that our customers love raw, race-bred models, but we also knew there was an opportunity to create cars that offer a sharper performance focus but stop short of those truly hard-core, special series models. With the AMR brand we have the perfect platform to deliver both.

The Rapide AMR unveiled here in Shanghai, and the Vantage AMR Pro shown at the 2017 Geneva show are both confirmed for production: The Rapide as a run of only 210 cars; the Vantage in an extremely limited series of no more than 7 cars. This is the start of something very exciting – a programme that will eventually see an AMR version of every model in the Aston Martin range”.

Q by Aston Martin

Aston Martin arrives in Shanghai with an example of the marque’s enhanced Q by Aston Martin bespoke service. The personalisation service has evolved into a multi-tiered offering, giving customers almost limitless opportunities to create their own unique Aston Martin through enhanced levels of design and customer interaction. 

The Q by Aston Martin – Collection brings an array of distinctive design touches to your Aston Martin. This selection of exclusive trim and enhancements can be added to your Aston Martin at the point of specification and installed and hand-finished at the luxury marque’s Gaydon headquarters.

The second stage of Aston Martin's enhanced offering is ‘Q by Aston Martin – Commission’, a step into the world of the truly bespoke, individual sports car. Designed through ‘Commission’ specifically for the Chinese market, the iconic British marque is announcing a special edition Vantage S sports car. Strictly limited to just five examples, the V8 Vantage S Great Britain Edition is the perfect embodiment of British culture and craftsmanship. Finished in Stratus White, the car boasts blue tinted mirrors and rear diffuser and unique red, white and blue exterior wing badges. The interior is lavishly trimmed in a deep Aurora Blue leather, with bespoke ‘Zagato’ wave quilting, Anodised Blue Rotaries and Union Jack embroidery. 

Marek Reichman, Aston Martin’s EVP and Chief Creative Officer said: “The Q by Aston Martin service has grown substantially since it was first established in 2012. We have the opportunity to work with our customers, taking personalisation to a different level. Our commitment to Chinese customers is absolute, as demonstrated with the announcement that we are creating products designed specifically with the Chinese customer in mind with our Q by Aston Martin Commission – the V8 Vantage S Great Britain Edition.”

The V8 Vantage S Great Britain Edition is priced from RMB 2,088,000.

The new Renault KOLEOS: SUV capability and comfort combined with dynamic French style.

Renault rounds off its high-end range with a brand new D-segment SUV, the new KOLEOS. The new model will play a key role in Renault’s product offensive that has seen a record-breaking year with the introduction of 10 new vehicles across the world.

The new KOLEOS is designed and engineered with global appeal to play a part in boosting Renault’s international growth, including China where Renault opened a plant in Wuhan earlier this year.

Renault Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn will reveal the new KOLEOS at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition on April 25^th, 2016.

The new Renault KOLEOS: SUV capability and comfort combined with dynamic French style

The new KOLEOS delivers a blend of robust SUV design cues together with the refinement and features associated with large saloon cars.

The new KOLEOS boasts a powerful stance that sets it apart from its D-segment SUV rivals and provides a refined, comfortable interior that boasts record room for passengers. The new KOLEOS also delivers all-terrain ability while ensuring excellent ride and handling and stability.

CHINA - Renault plans a massive investment in China to build upwards of 800,000 units per year.

Renault will make "massive investments" in China where it sees its market share rising as high as 6 percent after the company ramps up sales of locally-built vehicles in the world's biggest car market.

Renault has lagged rivals such as Volkswagen and PSA/Peugeot-Citroen in expanding in China, relying on strong sales of its popular small cars in Europe and other emerging markets to help it cope in a shaky global economy.

Renault sold just 34,000 cars in China last year, compared with PSA's 734,000 sales, but the company believes that will change once it starts selling vehicles next year through a joint venture with China's Dongfeng Motor.

"In China, we will have a minimum of 3 percent and very likely 6 percent of the market," Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn told reporters on Monday. "That's a lot of cars, and that means you can expect a massive investment program in China in the coming years," he added, declining to give figures.

Renault is building a Chinese factory in Wuhan with an initial production capacity of 100,000 vehicles, with the aim of ramping up output to more than 500,000 cars.

The company says it is on target to launch its first locally manufactured vehicle in China, a compact crossover, in 2016. "Construction of the facility has been completed, and the assembly lines are currently being installed," Renault said in a statement last month.

Ghosn said in October that the automaker could sell up to 800,000 vehicles a year in China including imported and locally built cars.

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Citroën launches new SUV, for China only, hopefully it will come to Europe.

• New  C3-XR unveiled at C_42, Paris
• New Crossover to be launched in China at the end of the year
• Chinese market is a key growth area for Citroën, representing more than one in four sales for the brand

CITROËN is continuing its strategy of globalisation and asserting its position as a truly international automotive manufacturer. At the heart of this strategy is the Chinese market, which now represents more than one in four sales for the brand. It is for this important market that CITROËN has unveiled, at C_42 on the Champs Elysées, the new C3-XR, a compact SUV projecting robustness, elegance and dynamism.

Citroën is further accelerating its policy of developing sales in overseas markets and consolidating its status as a global brand. In recent months, this global approach has taken on a new dimension with sales worldwide up 7% in the first half of 2014, above the growth in the market (+4%).

CITROËN is growing fast in China, with sales up 19% to the end of August 2014, compared to 12% for the market. This growth is supported by a rapidly expanding network of 470 dealers, which came first for service quality in the JD Power 2014 survey. The success of the products, such as C-Elysée and C4 L, demonstrates that CITROËN has been able to win recognition by offering models that are tailored, modern and able to meet the expectations of these new customers.

It is on these solid foundations that CITROËN has unveiled the C3-XR, its new model to be launched in China at the end of the year which will extend its cover of this market. This new offering embodies a resolutely modern approach to the SUV, based on CITROËN’s values: strong design, remarkable comfort inherited from CITROËN’s know-how and technology choices aimed at the well-being of users. The vehicle was presented at a symbolic location, C_42 on the Champs Elysées, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Franco-Chinese diplomatic relations and emphasise the French origins of this SUV.

The C3-XR is very close to the concept car presented at Beijing in April 2014 and is a pure product of the CITROËN centre of style, which applied all of its know-how and creativity in the conception of this SUV. Its immediately identifiable design projects robustness, elegance and dynamism. As one of CITROËN’s distinctive traits, comfort is of the highest standard, thanks to benchmark levels of interior space, a roomy and welcoming driving position, and ride comfort worthy of the best saloons. The CITROËN C3-XR also benefits from the latest innovations, making for easier use through its technological equipment – keyless entry and start, reversing camera, grip control – and its connectivity via the Citroën telematic services.

On sale in December, C3-XR will be produced at Wuhan and will be available from launch with the THP 160 S&S engine coupled with the latest generation EAT6 automatic gearbox.

C3-XR will be on show at C_42 on the Champs Elysées.

Rolls Royce launches Ghost Series II in China.

Today at the 2014 Chengdu Motor Show, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars unveiled the eagerly anticipated Ghost Series II to the Chinese market. Ghost Series II delivers the latest industry-leading technology from Rolls-Royce clad in a subtle re-design.  It exudes the timeless yet cool, modern luxury that the car’s Chinese customers – the Captains of Industry, entrepreneurs and successful businessmen and women who are the wealth and job creators in our economies – demand. The launch of Ghost Series II consolidates Ghost’s position as the most popular car in the €200,000+ class, and as a cornerstone of Rolls-Royce’s continuing success.

On unveiling Ghost Series II to a packed hall at Century City New International Convention & Exhibition Center (CCNICEC), Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ Regional Director for Mainland China Henrik Wilhemsmeyer said, “The Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II is the ultimate entrepreneur’s business tool. Following the worldwide success of its predecessor, I am confident that this re-designed and updated Rolls-Royce will continue to attract increasing numbers of new customers to the marque, in particular business entrepreneurs seeking an oasis of calm in a frenetic business world.”

Ghost Series II – design evolved

Protecting the popularity of Ghost’s iconic design whilst delivering the latest Rolls-Royce technology to its exacting customers, the subtle re-design of Ghost Series II begins from the front.

Re-sculpted LED headlights encircled by daytime running lights lend Ghost Series II a more dynamic visual signature and blend perfectly with revised surface treatments to the front of the car. A tapered ‘wake channel’ on the bonnet, emanating from the Spirit of Ecstasy, evokes the sight of a jet’s vapour trail or wake of a fast luxury yacht and hints at the car’s dynamism. Subtle re-sculpting of Ghost’s bumpers creates a stronger stance and a sense of extra width and height, whilst the contemporary aesthetic is further enhanced with the addition of chrome inserts to the front air intakes, which now feed more air cooling to the front brakes. In addition, the famous waft line has been re-designed on Ghost Series II to lean further forwards emphasising the car’s effortless dynamism.

“As a design statement, Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II continues to transcend time,” comments Giles Taylor, Director of Design for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.  “This is ensured by the deft treatment of features such as the new headlights, the new wake channel on the bonnet and surfacing that lend the car a more dynamic, purposeful stance and hint at the cutting edge technology inside. I am very pleased with the overall sense of design harmony.”

Inside, Ghost Series II delivers on its outward appearance. The ultimate contemporary combination of luxury, technology and connectivity available to the successful entrepreneur on the move today, Ghost Series II’s onboard technology ensures it is an oasis of calm in a busy, connected world where he or she can do business in peace.

Its suite of technologies ensures that both business and leisure time in the car are a super-luxurious effortless experience. On-board Wi-Fi makes Ghost Series II the most connected, luxurious place in which to conduct business on the move, whilst Satellite Aided Transmission (SAT), debuted in Wraith last year, enhances the car’s dynamism – ensuring the car automatically adapts to its surroundings augmenting the drive experience. Updates to navigation systems and the car/user interface ensures accessing Ghost’s features remains an effortless experience, whilst optional Bespoke Audio – the most exhaustively engineered and finest audio system in automotive history – brings new levels of aural satisfaction to passengers.

In short, Ghost remains the ultimate choice for successful Chinese entrepreneurs and the calmest place from which to run their successful enterprises on the move.

Citroen plans DS sedan for China market, but it may come to Europe.

Citroen has added a sedan to its DS line, the DS5 LS, which is designed for the Chinese market and will initially only be sold there.

The DS5 LS will be built at a new plant in Shenzhen, China. It has a different front end from the DS5 hatchback and has a roomy trunk.

The LS -- which stands for luxury saloon -- is designed for Chinese executives who, even at mid-level, demand to have a chauffeured limousine at their disposal. The interior features leather seats and wood trim on the dashboard and doors.

"The DS5 LS is a truly Parisian design," Citroen CEO Yves Bonnefont said at the Geneva auto show, where the LS was featured.

The front end has a grille and chrome "wings" that eventually will be found on the rest of the DS line, he said. It's possible the DS5 LS will eventually be sold in Europe. It will be introduced to the Chinese market in the autumn.

The LS is part of PSA Peugeot-Citroen's decision to make the DS upscale line a stand-alone brand. The traditional Citroen chevrons are not to be found on the LS's grille, only the stylized DS logo.

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