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Many worldwide automobile manufacturers are branching out into the realm of electric vehicles and electric automobile technologies. Companies including Leshi, Infiniti and Tesla are all converging on the Chinese market to take advantage of the burgeoning sales that occur in the country. Domestic Chinese automobile manufacturers like Leshi are working to increase their own knowledge of electric vehicles as well as bring in experts in the field to increase the chances of success in the electronic vehicle market.

               Jia Yueting is the founder of Leshi Internet Information and Technology Corporation based in Beijing. Recent additions to the Leshi Internet Information and Technology Corporation include Allen Lu, the former managing director of Infiniti China. He was brought on board to usher in a new era of electronic vehicle marketing and technology to Leshi, a traditional web and TV company.

               Allen Lu brings in extensive experience from Ferrari and Nissan’s own electronic vehicles groups and will certainly give Leshi a valuable resource when embarking upon this new business venture. His experience with other car companies will allow Leshi to gain experience in this market while they seek to create a functioning and efficient electric vehicle that appeals to Chinese drivers as well as drivers elsewhere in the world. Leshi hopes to someday manufacture electric cars around the world and are simply setting their sights on China for the time being.

               China is proving to be a ripe market for electric vehicles, or so hope the many billionaires who are choosing to invest in the country and this specific sort of technology. Recent attention to the massive pollution problems in China have led to laws about how many car licenses can be given out, how many cars can be sold and emissions regulations mean that the automobile market is opening wide for alternative energies and fuels to be used. Electric vehicle giants like Tesla are also looking to move into the fertile market that is China, building upon their reputation for stunningly brilliant electronic vehicles sold in other parts of the world.

               Electronic vehicles from other interested parties, would be manufactured in China to decrease the dependency China has on foreign automobile brands. This would not only benefit the domestic automobile market, but help pave the way for other non-automobile manufacturing companies like Leshi to invest in their own electric research and design experiments should they so desire.

               Leshi is breaking new ground into the automobile market as this is not the business they have been known for during their existence. The head of the company recognized the risk he is taking by branching out into this market but understands that while he might fail, the gains made for the future of the Chinese electronic vehicle market could make all the difference. He and others hope to create a suitable challenger to Tesla while creating a domestic, Chinese supercar that also works to solve some of China’s many fuel and pollution problems.

ON BEHALF OF AMSIA MOTORS TEAM.

The Volvo Ocean Race is the world’s toughest sailing event, where the elite of the sailing profession battle it out on the most treacherous oceans. It is a nine-month marathon on the seas, passing through four oceans and five continents. The race is an exceptional test of sailing prowess and human endeavour where the athletes push themselves to the limit of endurance in what is commonly referred to as the ‘Everest of Sailing’. Over the duration of the race, the crews experience life at the extreme: no fresh food is taken on board so they live off freeze-dried food; they experience temperature variations from -15 to +40 degrees Celsius and only take one change of clothes with them on board. They trust their lives to the skipper and each other and experience hunger and severe sleep deprivation.

Dongfeng Race Team was the second of the Volvo Ocean 65’s to cross the Artemis Challenge finish line, 4 minutes behind Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and ahead of Team SCA. Today’s Artemis Challenge, a 50-mile race around the Isle of Wight, has been the very first opportunity for ‘Dongfeng’ to line up against the Volvo Ocean Race competition. Dongfeng Race Team completed the Artemis Challenge course in a time of 5 hours, 3 minutes and 46 seconds. This was the first time since the beginning of the Chinese campaign that Charles Caudrelier and his crew have found themselves within such close proximity to their competitors: “We’re not going to put too much pressure on ourselves but, for sure, it’s important to us,” explained Caudrelier. “The first time for us we’ve see the other teams and the first time we’ve performed in race mode as a team.”

Bruno Dubois, Dongfeng Race Team’s Director was out on the water when his team crossed the finish line. “We know we have a young team and we know that out of all the teams we have the least experience. I’m not expecting miracles but I’m confident we will see progress and eventually results. I am happy with the outcome from today’s challenge.” A fleet of ocean going racing machines from the 70ft multihull Oman Sail Musandam to the 33ft Beneteau Figaro IIs took part in today’s Artemis Challenge. Dongfeng were part of the winning group A and a share of the £10,000 charity prize fund will be donated to Dongfeng Race Team’s nominated charity Race for Water. A charity dedicated to water preservation.

Today’s Artemis Challenge has been a nice, light airs, warm up. But with the Round Britain and Ireland Race start just days away, and the Volvo Ocean Race starting in less than two months, there is much more to come – and it won’t always be as tame, amicable or rewarding as today. The RACE FOR WATER Foundation is a Charity dedicated to Water Preservation. Today, this vital resource is in serious danger. It has to be protected. To learn, share and act on our Water Footprint and Marine Plastic Pollution are the main issues the Foundation focuses on. LEARN: Educate and raise public awareness SHARE: Work together to make a difference ACT: Implement practical solutions The RACE FOR WATER Foundation has specifically developed a program based around four pillars: AWARENESS: Raise understanding among general public and key opinion leaders about the urgency of water preservation through the “Water Guardian” program, exhibitions, our traveling Water pavilion and our ambassador boat: the MOD70. BUSINESS: Engage businesses and scientists, develop the understanding of the impacts and propose tools for action in collaboration with the WWF and WBCSD. EDUCATION: Inspire the next generation to act to preserve our water resources and engage them to make a difference with the help of the super hero ‘Titeuf’. The aim is to include the program in the school curriculum. SCIENCE: Develop a better knowledge base and understanding of the impacts of plastics on the maritime environment, measure the real rate of waste dispersal and create a research center on plastic pollution in collaboration with governmental institutions. Ref: dongfengraceteam.cn

Here’s what the world looks like to a car guy in Detroit right now: In the U.S. new regulations are cranking up costs while cautious car buyers creep back into showrooms. China’s once-hot sales are cooling–fast. Europe is a total basket case, with too much production capacity and an allout price war. Carmakers from General Motors and Ford Motor to Volkswagen and Daimler warn of difficult times ahead. Market conditions, says VW Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn, have become “noticeably harder and tougher.” But bring up Brazil and you get a smile. No, they’re not looking forward to a Rio vacation or a cheap retirement. What carmakers see when they look at Brazil is South America’s largest consumer market, a still-bustling economy–and a lot of potential customers. Forget that in the world’s fifth-largest country only 14% of the roads are paved. Incomes are rising, lifting almost 40 million more Brazilians into the middle class since 2003–and putting a vehicle purchase within their reach for the first time. “Brazil is at a critical point right now,” said Guido Vildozo, a Latin America specialist at market research firm IHS Automotive, noting that the country’s GDP has topped $10,000 per capita. “That’s a milestone. If you look back at the U.S., Europe, even Korea, you’ll see that this is when markets move to a growth stage. This is why we’re suddenly seeing all the carmakers focusing on Brazil. They want to try to capture a slice of that pie.” Anfavea, Brazil’s auto industry trade group, forecasts sales will increase 68% from 3.4 million units in 2011 to 5.7 million by 2016, despite a massive tax burden and high borrowing costs that drive up car prices. (In the U.S. sales are forecast to rise 30%.) As early as 2015 Brazil could overtake Japan to become the world’s third-largest car market after China and the U.S., according to Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. Volkswagen, Fiat, GM and Ford have dominated Brazil for years, with 84% of the market in 2007. But that number is dropping as new players rush in. By 2015 it’s expected to fall to 70%, according to market researcher J.D. Power and Associates. Pressure is coming from global rivals like Kia, Hyundai, Honda, Nissan and BMW, as well as new players like China’s Chery, Geely, JAC and Hafei, and India’s Tata and Mahindra.

Competition is only one problem for Detroit’s Brazilian operations. The government is another. Spooked by the flood of foreign-built cars, President Dilma Rousseff, a onetime Marxist and late convert to capitalism, grabbed for a comfortable crutch earlier this year: tariffs. She raised the tax on imported cars from 25% to 55%. Brazilian shoppers eyeing popular models like a Toyota Corolla, which sells for $16,230 in the U.S., were shocked by sticker prices of $29,000. Because Mexico was exempt under a regional trade agreement, carmakers figured they could just ship more vehicles from their Mexican factories. That didn’t set right with Rousseff, who slapped a quota on Mexican imports. Carmakers can pay less tax on imports if they do more engineering work in Brazil and use mostly Brazil-made auto parts in their local factories. “Brazilian consumption has been appropriated by imports,” Finance Minister Guido Mantega said in announcing the tax. “We are the fifth-largest automobile market in the world and the seventh-largest producer, but we risk losing our position if we don’t take measures.” Luckily, all the policy wrangling to bolster Brazil’s industry was trumped by headwinds from the worldwide economic crisis. In May Rousseff’s government enacted tax cuts and lower interest rates to spur consumer spending. The economy bounced back, as did car sales. The stimulus measures have been extended through October, prompting predictions of a second-half boom.

Manufacturers have learned their lesson, though. GM, Ford, VW, Fiat, Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan, Honda, Renault, Peugeot and Chery are among the companies adding or expanding factories at breakneck speed, with plans to invest some $25 billion in Brazil by 2016, adding 1.5 million units a year of production capacity. That doesn’t include investments by auto parts suppliers.

For GM and Ford the ramp-up is especially tough. They tolerated high labor costs and low manufacturing productivity for years in South America, while they focused on growth markets like Asia, which had more immediate potential. While auto industry wages in Brazil have risen 125% in ten years, productivity has increased only 22% due to a lack of automation, poor training and high energy and steel costs. Both GM and Ford reported lower operating results in the region thus far in 2012. While currency and global economic issues are partly to blame, they’ve also been hurt by outdated product lineups. Both companies are revamping their cars to keep consumers interested–and margins profitable. GM, for example, is launching seven new products this year in Brazil, including the Chevrolet Spin sport-utility and Colorado pickup. Ford, meanwhile, is rolling out a new small SUV, the EcoSport, along with a redesigned Ranger pickup and the next-generation Ford Fusion. “By 2015 we will have all global platforms in Brazil,” said Rogelio Golfarb, a vice president at Ford South America. “We are caught right in the middle of the transition.” With so much competition, mostly in smaller vehicles, he said, “it forces you to be real efficient. That’s the challenge of Brazil.” But not the only one. The government’s shifting policies have also made it hard for automakers to make long-term decisions. “The government has thrown a few curveballs over the last six months or so,” says Robert Shanks, Ford’s chief financial officer, who says the company set up its manufacturing footprint in Mexico and Argentina to take advantage of free trade agreements between Brazil and those countries. Now it has to start over. “That’s not something we can respond to overnight.” Given the global auto market these days, they’ll have no choice but to try. ref: www.forbes.com

The domestic Chinese auto market has seen an increase in foreign investors to the extent that they now make up the majority of the Chinese auto market for the first time in a long while. While China is dominating the markets in technology and other industries their domestic auto market has not seen as big of advances as they would have hoped going up against bigger and more prepared foreign automobile manufacturers.

                The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) does mention in their annual report of the state of the Chinese automobile market that domestic Chinese car manufacturers did see an increase in domestic car sales up 7.5% from November of 2012 and up 5.5% from October of 2013. While the domestic auto manufacturers market is not growing as quickly as the foreign car market is there is still growth being seen in the domestic sector, bringing continued hope to domestic car manufacturers.

                In 2013 domestic Chinese automobile sales increased 11.5% while maintaining a 40% market share in the domestic Chinese automobile market. The Chinese government is attempting to create a series of incentives and subsidies to encourage the sale of domestic Chinese cars to the population while also instituting technology transfers between domestic car companies to level the playing field and create a stronger domestic manufacturing environment to better forge ahead in the years to come.

                Although these measures are being taken to increase the domestic market share of local Chinese car companies China is also searching for ways to profit off of the ever-booming foreign car market. The state may decrease its high tariffs on foreign cars and ease some of the restrictions on foreign automobile companies that do business in China, making it easier and more profitable for foreign car companies to do business in China.

Despite the pressure on the domestic Chinese car market to keep up with production and sales foreign car manufacturing companies are still investing more into the Chinese market than the domestic companies themselves are willing or able to. In addition to investing foreign car manufacturing companies have the advantage of putting out new models of cars at a quicker rate than the domestic Chinese car companies are able to. Consumers who like variety, therefore, are more drawn to purchase a different kind of car than the average Chines domestic model that is available. Exports of Chinese cars to foreign markets are down this year although car manufacturers hope they will increase as the year continues. As the domestic market is hit by more Chinese car regulations the export market is essential to the Chinese automobile manufacturing industry. Some cities in China have continued to regulate the sales of cars, when they can be driven, and what kind of cars can be bought due to the increasing amount of pollution affecting major cities in China. This puts a damper on the exuberant nature of the Chinese automobile consumer. The 2014 automobile year looks as though it will bring some beneficial changes to the domestic Chinese automobile market.