Short torque

Engine-maker tries hand at cars

Chinese engine producer Weichai (Chongqing) Power Co officially released its first vehicle under the brand Enranger, or Yingzhi in Chinese, marking the first step in the company's transformation into a car manufacturer. Enranger will focus on SUV, vans and pickups. Production will start in the second half of next year in a new facility in Chongqing. The first car will be a small SUV, which will be launched to the market later this year at the Chengdu auto show.

Vehicle recalls on the rise nationwide

Vehicle recalls in China increased dramatically to more than 5 million units last year. Much of the sudden surge is attributable to GM, which recalled 1.4 million units on Dec 27. Ford also announced a recall of 80,857 Kuga SUVs on the same day. Some 3.76 million vehicles were recalled in China as of Dec 26, an increase of 17.37 percent year-on-year before the GM and Ford recall.

Students apt to make apps

The GM Cup Telematics App Contest - hosted by General Motors China and its joint ventures - recently concluded. Since its launch in May, the event has collected submissions for about 50 telematics apps and designs from students in 20 Chinese universities. The works include mobile and cloud computing platforms, human-machine interfaces, multi-screen interaction systems, and augmented reality information displays.

Motoring

(China Daily 01/06/2014 page19)