SAIC to build new Roewe car in February 2010
Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. will start making a new Roewe model in February next year at its Pukou plant in the east China city of Nanjing, according to sources within SAIC.
Roewe N1 Concept car
The new car will be the production unit of the N1 Roewe Concept car, displayed at the Shanghai auto show in late April.
It will be built on SAIC's small vehicle platform code named AP11.
Fitted with 1.3-1.6 liter engines developed by SAIC's r&d in Shanghai, the car will be smaller than the two existing Roewe models, the Roewe 550 compact car and Roewe 720 mid-sized sedan.
The Roewe 550 carries a turbocharged Kavachi 1.8-liter engine or a Kavachi 1.8 DVVT (Dual Variable Valve Timing) engine while the Roewe 750 has a turbocharged 1.8-liter engine or 2.5-liter V6 engine.
Production of the new Roewe car is scheduled to begin on February 28. Annual output of the car will be 60,000 units initially, but will rise to 150,000 units in the future.
Pricing of the new car is not available. But it is widely expected to be priced below the Roewe 550 which has a starting price of 126,800 yuan ($18,600).
