Dongfeng to launch two more models this year on existing car platform
Dongfeng Motor Corp., a leading state-owned automaker, plans to launch a mild hybrid and a crossover later this year to expand its lineup of passenger vehicle products, company executives said.
Both models will be built on Dongfeng's existing mid-sized car platform, said Li Chunfrong, vice president in charge of sales and marketing at Dongfeng's passenger vehicle plant.
The mild hybrid will be launched in the first half of this year while the crossover will make its debut in the second half, he said.
A mild hybrid provides a stop-start system as well as brake-energy regeneration and acceleration assistance.
Further details about the two new models have yet to be disclosed.
Dongfeng, a leading commercial vehicle maker on the domestic market, is still a new player in the passenger vehicle sector.
Last week, the company started selling its second own brand car, the H30 hatchback in the southwest China city of Chengdu. The car shares its platform with Dongfeng's first own brand car, the mid-sized S30 sedan.
The two cars are both powered by a 1.6-liter gasoline engine from Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen. They are fitted either with a five-speed manual transmission from Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen, or the Step-gate four-speed automatic transmission of Japanese supplier Aisin Seiki Co.
Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen is Dongfeng's joint venture with PSA Peugeot Citroen SA.
After hitting the market in June last year, a total of 3,600 S30 cars were sold in China in 2009, according to figures released by the company at a ceremony in Chengdu marking the start of sales of the H30.
