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Loading ...Remember the Russian built Lada? Well, another Russian manufacture has begun building a new four-door saloon, the Volga Siber. While it says there are no plans to bring the car to the UK, don’t take that statement as set in concrete.
The Siber will be churned out at the rate of 100,000 cars a year, at 540,000 roubles (£11,640) a time. GAZ will launch its new model into its 68 Russian showrooms in September. It stems from a partnership with US maker Chrysler, which is supplying the four-cylinder petrol engine that meets the latest European emissions regulations.
Leading British design studio UltraMotive penned the car’s stylish bodywork, and it will also go on sale in the US.
The price looks even better on scanning the basic specification - the 4.84 metres long Siber gets air-conditioning, twin front airbags, anti-lock brakes, anti-skid traction control, halogen headlamps with courtesy feature and adjustable levels of brightness; power steering with adjustable wheel, powered six way drivers seat, an audio system with six speakers, heated and folding electric door mirrors, and a full spare tyre.
GAZ is the largest Russian producer of commercial vehicles and one of the largest global producers of vans, trucks and busses.
But China will have gained a strong foothold if GAZ decides to target Britain’s Lucrative market, and there are already plans to sell Chinese cars here in much the same way that Carphone Warehouse retails mobile phones.
A couple of Chinese electric cars were on display at the British International Motor Show at London’s Excel, and were of more substantial stuff than the often-criticised quafricycle battery-powered designs.
Quiet Car Company, based in Lymington Hampshire, showed a battery-electic conversion of the Chinese Hafei Lobo five door hatchback, which will sell here for £12,995, while the NICE Car Company, based in London, premiered its own Chinese made five door electric Hatchback the Ze-O.
Electric vehicles aside, Ssangyong (owned by China;s Shaghai Automotive Industries Corporation, the country’s biggest automaker) is looking to strengthen its sales and dealer position in the UK in the near future. It’s backed by a plan to launch 20 new models from five new platforms over the next five years.
The firms UK managing director Paul Williams says the timing couldnt be better. “our cars fit the budget a Ssangyong does the job of a Land Rover Discovery, but at a lower price. So customers dont have to downsize, they only have to down-price,”
And where else can we expect cars from? Mexico!, the country has a massive automotive sector, but very few indigenous Mexican brands.
Brothers Daniel and Carlos Mastretta want to change that. They are bringing their Lotus sports car rival, the Mastretta MXT to Britain, where it will sell for £32,999.
The sporty 2.0 Litre petrol two seater which is the first car ever to be designed and built in Mexico, will be a strong rival to lightweight sports cars sold in the UK when it arrives here early next year.
Powered by a Cosworth built turbocharged engine developing 240bhp, the rear-wheel drive flyer weighs just 900kg, and has an impressive 0-60mph time of less than five seconds.