Wolodymyr the Dacia Duster in Bender, Transnistria. Our 10 countries in 10 days in a Dacia Logan epic adventure was such a hit with you BSCB readers that Dacia Romania agreed to lend me a Duster for 18 days in September 2019, well before COVID-19 travel restrictions temporarily put an…
The Toyota Corolla and RAV4 battled for the top spot in Taiwan in 2019. Consult 15 years worth of Taiwanese Historical Data here The Taiwanese new car market bounces back slightly in 2019 with sales up a shy 1.1% year-on-year to 439.836 units. Toyota (+16.2%) tightens its grip on the brands…
Dacia sales are up 36.4% year-on-year in Morocco in September. The Moroccan new light vehicle market signs its first solid year-on-year gain of the year in September at +9.2% to 12.847 units including 11.110 passenger cars (+7.8%) and 1.737 light commercials (+25.2%). The year-to-date volume remains however frankly in negative at…
Honda posts the largest year-on-year gain in the Top 13. A last minute sales rush in June to clear out non-compliant vehicles ahead of the implementation of Stage 6 emissions standards means the Chinese retail market is actually up 4.6% over H1 2019 to 10.630.614 units. It has been a…
It's thumbs up from me on the BYD Tang EV. I kept the best for last, and this final iteration of this China Test Drives 2019 series following the Shanghai Auto Show details the most impressive car I got to drive this year: the BYD Tang EV. BYD (for Build…
The Baojun RS-5 in Tongliao, Inner Mongolia. Last year we test drove the extremely successful Baojun 510 and 530, and in 2019 SAIC-GM's low-cost brand has taken a complete u-turn with a semi-premium stand at the Shanghai Auto Show in April in opposite trajectory with its heritage and DNA. The truth…
Geely Binyue in Kunming, Yunnan. One year ago I tested the Geely Boyue and was thoroughly impressed by its almost rally car-like handling thanks to particularly brazen sales people. I did not expect that from the "soccer mum SUV" the Boyue is. Since, Geely has released the smaller Binyue to…
Bestune T77 in Tongliao, Inner Mongolia. We interviewed the Bestune team at the Shanghai Auto Show last April to try and uncover the secrets behind the success of FAW's new brand, and the logical next step was to test drive its unique model for now, the T77 SUV, which one…
Dongfeng Aeolus AX7 in Dali, Yunnan. We continue on our series of Chinese dealership test drives with the second Dongfeng this year, this time from the Aeolus sub-brand, a Westernised name for the Chinese label Fengshen. Note that it may as well be a different brand altogether so much so…
VW Lavida in Lijiang, Yunnan. After test driving the Wuling Hongguang, #1 in China from 2013 to 2017, the logical next step is to get a feel of 2018's overall leader the VW Lavida. I was able to do exactly that in Lijiang in the Yunnan province earlier this year. Originally launched…
Wuling Hongguang in Dali, Yunnan. It's time for me to test drive the car that is responsible for bringing mass mobility to an entire nation: the Wuling Hongguang. Originally launched in 2010, no less than 4 million of them have been sold in China since, dominating the country's sales charts…
Dongfeng Fengon ix5 in Kunming We continue on our Chinese dealership test drives with the Dongfeng Fengon ix5, previously Fengguang and aka Glory outside of China. This is Dongfeng's first coupe SUV, a red hot format in China at the moment that seems to be the perfect blend of SUV…
Jetour X70 in Dali. After reporting on my rental Peugeot 301 and Hyundai Celesta, it is now time to relate my visits to Chinese dealerships and all the quick test drives that resulted. From 5 in 2018, the number of new Chinese cars I was able to get my hands…
Our Hyundai Celesta near Tiger Leaping Gorge in Yunnan. After trying out a Peugeot 301 in Inner Mongolia, we now fly the entire width of China to land in Kunming, the capital of the Yunnan province. We will attempt to visit the province's highlights during a 1.263 km loop with…
The Citroen C3 Aircross could be headed towards its first annual Top 10 finish at home. This article has been updated with the Top 42 brands, Top 275 models and Top 10 private sales. The French new car market edges down -1.8% over the First Half 2019 to 1.166.443 units,…