Last week in my blog I talked about the New York Motor Show – and offered my pick of the exciting cars on show Stateside.
This week it’s the turn of the Beijing Motor Show, which has just finished.
And the Chinese market is where it’s all happening – car growth is booming: nearly 22m units last year, representing an increase of nearly 14% on the year before, and the only brake on further double digit growth this year might be over concerns of air quality in the major cities.
But with Chinese consumers demanding more and more Western style cars, it’s a great place to be for car makers. So no wonder the Beijing Motor Show – or Auto China 2014 – saw the unveil of some fabulous cars.
Here’s my top five.
 | Porsche Boxster GTS Definitely a car for high days and holy days; and right up there on my want to drive list. This is the quickest Boxster of them all, Porsche debuting the GTS version with its blisteringly quick 0-62mph time of 4.7 seconds. If you can’t get a roadster through on your fleet policy, then go for the Cayman GTS Coupe: 4.6 seconds to 62mph… |
 | MINI Paceman The updated MINI Paceman received its world debut at Beijing – the Countryman was unveiled at New York (as mentioned in my previous blog). The Paceman is the MINI coupe and now features cleaner Euro 6 engines – which will please those Chinese cities suffering pollution – improved economy, and an updated interior. And for fleet drivers there’s the Cooper D model with just 111g/km CO2. |
 | Mercedes Concept Coupe SUV This is German brawn in a very stylish coupe-styled SUV body. And it’s pitched right at the top end of the market – think of it as a rival to the BMW X6. Based on the M Class, it’s likely the car will be badged MLC when it comes to the market in 2015. |
 | Volkswagen Touareg A more attainable SUV than the Mercedes Concept, VW’s Touareg made its debut in China featuring refreshed styling both to the front and rear. When it comes to the UK in November, only the 3.0 V6 TDI engines will be available, both of which have better economy nearly (43mpg) and lower emissions. |
 | Lexus NX Beijing was the world debut for the Lexus NX – a sharply styled compact SUV aimed squarely at the Range Rover Evoque and larger BMW X5. Good news is that the car is coming to the UK where it will feature hybrid drive technology good for 65mpg – so it’s likely to be very impressive on benefit in kind. Expect it in the UK late this year. |
Last week in my blog I talked about the New York Motor Show – and offered my pick of the exciting cars on show Stateside. This week it’s the turn of the Beijing Motor Show, which has just finished. And the Chinese market is where it’s all happening – car growth is booming: nearly 22m … Continued
Motor shows used to be just for Europe – plus the great Tokyo Show in Japan and Detroit in the US, of course, but no more. In the world economy, car makers need to display their new cars around the world and in different, more affluent areas. So the New York International Auto Show runs … Continued
I’ve talked about Fleet Alliance Loves before in this blog. It’s the bit where we let the staff loose, so to speak, to do their own thing. Some of it’s daft, some of it’s highly strenuous, but the concept is all based around charitable giving, involvement in the community, and environmental engagement. So whether it’s … Continued
I don’t know about you, but my first instinct on hearing the Budget yesterday was to go down to the pub. There were no great tax giveaways, but at least the Chancellor knocked 1p a pint off a beer in tax. But if you’re a company car driver, will you have more money to spend … Continued
The Geneva Motor Show – the start of the European season for motor shows – is always a great event, so full of optimism and bristling with new models and new technologies. Some of them, like fuel cells, will be coming and are clearly important for fleets in the longer term – see my blog … Continued
As I carefully tore around the perforations of my new tax disc – only, as ever, to rip the paper roundel in one place (why does that always happen?) – I did think: this is the last time I’ll be doing this. From 01 October 2014 the paper tax disc is being replaced by a … Continued
Will your next company car be missing something? Nothing serious, of course, but it could be to your advantage that it’s not all present and correct: there’s a swathe of new cars arriving missing a cylinder as four-cylinder engines start to give way to three-pots. The most high profile three-cylinder entrant will be the new … Continued
Hands-free. I’m not talking about your mobile phone, which I’m hoping is hands-free when you drive. No, I’m talking about the steering wheel. Would you be brave enough to let go and allow the car to self-drive you? It’s an eerie concept isn’t it? Driving without having control. I don’t know about that… But already … Continued
Do you remember when many fleets had a ‘Buy British’ only policy? Those were the days when Ford, Vauxhall and British Leyland were major car producers. Competition, better quality and the user chooser gradually eroded the ‘Buy British’ fleet policies. But, perhaps, such policies might make a comeback. Last week, the SMMT announced that car … Continued
The guy on the radio last night who collects tax discs as a hobby was ecstatic. His reason? The news that the tax disc will cease its paper life and become digital, consigning it to the waste paper basket of history, meant his collection of tax discs (particularly the rarer ones) would go up in … Continued