Foreigners Create "Homegrown" Brands For China
China has a dizzying array of car brands. Nobody is quite sure how many car manufacturers there are. Number of car brands in China? Anybody’s guess. Well, there will be a new one. Nissan created a new brand exclusively for China. They call it the Venucia. Solid Chinese name …
Starting in 2012, Venucia vehicles built together with Nissan’s joint venture partner Dongfeng will be priced lower than the Nissan brand. Their target are “first-time car buyers among the less affluent middle class in regional cities,” as The Nikkei [sub] reveals. And truth be told, in China the car will be called “Qichen” which means “morning star” in Chinese. So why give it a western name if it’s for China only? Inscrutable orient …
Using Nissan’s technology, the joint venture will design Venucia vehicles and assemble them. Pricing will start from 50,000 yuan ($7370).
According to the Nikkei, Honda and GM also plan to introduce China-only brands for next year. The thinking is to deliver entry priced models without damaging the “foreign” halo of a brand.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Isn't the last one on the bottom row the exact Citroen emblem?
GM-SAIC launched one with a logo/name very similar to Iran's IKCO Samand. It's the same advice I read some days ago from Managing the Dragon.
"According to the Nikkei, Honda and GM also plan to introduce China-only brands for next year." Doesn't GM already have a China-only brand? You know, Buick?