China June car sales up 48.5% on year

July 9, 2009

China’s passenger car sales rose 48 per cent in June from the same month last year, consolidating a remarkable recovery that has catapulted China to top position in the world vehicle market so far this year, according to semi-official data released on Thursday.
The strength of China’s vehicle sales – total vehicles sales rose 18 per cent for the first half year to 6.1m from the same period last year – has surprised auto market analysts, government officials and even the country’s automakers, many of whom are scrambling to produce enough vehicles to meet demand. Some auto dealerships have reported shortages of vehicles and western automakers, such as Volkswagen and General Motors, have had to sharply increase production at their Chinese joint ventures to meet local demand.
Like other sectors of the Chinese economy, car industry growth this year was jump-started by the government, which in January announced tax breaks on small cars and subsidies for vehicle purchases in rural areas.
But car segments that were not targeted by tax breaks or subsidies also saw strong growth in sales, auto industry analysts said on Thursday.
High levels of bank lending are also believed to have helped spur demand. China on Wednesday announced that new lending in the first half was Rmb7,400bn ($1,084bn), up 201 per cent year-on-year and equal to 150 per cent of full-year lending in 2008.
Lending for car purchases had not risen – most Chinese buyers buy vehicles with cash – but higher levels of liquidity in general fed through to more corporate purchases of vehicles, analysts said.
General consumer confidence was also a strong factor in sales growth, said Mike Dunne, of the auto consultancy JD Power in Shanghai.
“The government is putting out a strong message that the financial crisis is concentrated in the US, but we in China are doing just fine. The world might be hurting, but not us,” he said.
He added that the impact of that message on car buyers “should not be underestimated”.
JD Power recently revised its 2009 forecast for Chinese passenger car sales to 7m, from 5.8m at the beginning of the year, and said that a further upward revision is possible.
Total vehicle sales rose 36 per cent in June year-on-year, the official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday, quoting figures from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
It was the fourth month in a row that sales had exceeded 1.1m units.
The strength of the Chinese market is providing a rare ray of hope for western automakers already operating in China, and attracting companies like Fiat, long a laggard in China, to the market.
Earlier this week, Fiat signed a joint venture agreement with Guangzhou Automobile Group to make cars and engines in China from 2011. Fiat and GAC said the venture would have the capacity to produce 140,000 cars and 220,000 engines per year initially, but could later be expanded to produce as much as 250,000 cars and 300,000 engines annually.
Tags: , ,
Related Posts:

Fires In Enclosed Car Park

March 8, 2009

Fires in car parks are fortunately quite rare, but, although there have been few deaths or injuries recorded to date in the UK, there are concerns regarding new and emerging risks from modern cars and alternative fuels.

It is essential that the Building Regulations (via Approved Document B (Fire safety) (AD B)) are able to offer the best practicable and proportional guidance for the fire safety and fire protection of buildings which are above, or contain, enclosed car parks.  The UK Government’s Communities and Local Government Sustainable Buildings Division have therefore commissioned BRE to carry out a three year project to examine fire spread in car parks.

The basis for the existing guidance in AD B for fire safety strategies in car parks relates to fire initiation and fire growth, and is based on research involving cars whose design is (now) decades old.  There is increasing and widespread concern about the effect of modern car design on the ignition and growth of fires (e.g. increasing electrical power, greater use of insulation materials, plastic fuel tanks) and how these fires may spread to other vehicles parked adjacently or nearby; by thermal radiation, direct flame impingement or running fuel fires (from a fuel spill or tank rupture).  This concern has been heightened by the increasing numbers of cars powered by alternative fuels such as LPG, and the possibility of cars using hydrogen.

Source:      http://www.bre.co.uk

Tags: , ,
Related Posts:

Uses of Chromium

February 6, 2009

In metallurgy, to impart corrosion resistance, create a shiny finish, or increase hardness:

-    as an alloy constituent, such as in stainless steel
-    in chrome plating
-   chromic acid is used in some anodizing processes
As dyes and paints:
-   Chromium(III) oxide is a metal polish known as green rouge.
-   Chromium salts color glass an emerald green.
-   Chromium is what makes a ruby red, and therefore is used in producing synthetic rubies.
-    also makes a brilliant yellow for painting

  • As a catalyst.
  • Chromite is used to make molds for the firing of bricks.
  • Chromium salts are used in the tanning of leather.
  • Potassium dichromate is a chemical reagent, used in cleaning laboratory glassware and as a titrating agent. It is also used as a mordant (i.e., a fixing agent) for dyes in fabric.
  • Chromium(IV) oxide (CrO2) is used to manufacture magnetic tape, where its higher coercivity than iron oxide tapes gives better performance.
  • In well drilling muds as an anti-corrosive.
  • In medicine, as a dietary supplement or slimming aid, usually as chromium(III) chloride, chromium(III) picolinate, chromium(III) polynicotinate or as an amino acid chelate, such as chromium(III) D-phenylalanine.[7]
  • Chromium hexacarbonyl (Cr(CO)6) is used as a gasoline additive.
  • Chromium boride (CrB) is used as a high-temperature electrical conductor.
  • Chromium(III) sulfate (Cr2(SO4)3) is used as a green pigment in paints, in ceramic, varnishes and inks as well as in chrome plating.
  • Chromium(VI) is used in the post Ballard preparation of Gravure (rotogravure) printing Forme Cylinders. By electroplating the metal onto the second coat of copper (after the Ballard skin), the longevity of the printing cylinder is increased.
Tags: , ,
Related Posts:

NIGHTMARE parking problems

February 1, 2009

NIGHTMARE parking problems could come to an end as plans are put forward to build a commuter car park.

People living in Theydon Bois have not been able to park outside their own front door because of restrictions introduced to prevent commuters leaving cars in the area.

And commuters have been forced to drive into work rather than use the tube because there is nowhere to park their cars.

But a man from Epping could solve all of their problems with his plans to construct up to 280 spaces next to Theydon Bois tube station.

George Dilloway owns the former Old Forester Club land off Abridge road and decided the area would be ideal for a car park.

He said: “The council haven’t provided any options for car parking in the area and at the moment about 60 people are already dumping their cars there illegally everyday because there is nowhere else for them to go with all the double yellow lines. It’s a major problem.”

Mr Dilloway is hoping that Transport for London will agree to open up the entrance to the tube station to make the car park even more accessible for commuters.

He added: “If they expanded the entrance it could be on the same side of the road as the car park.

“It would also help ease the commuter problem in other areas like Epping where parking is also a nightmare. If you’re not there by 6.30am there’s no spaces left.”

The plans were welcomed by residents.

Clive Cooper from Theydon Park Road is unable to park his car outside his home because of yellow line restrictions introduced to stop commuter parking.

He said: “The restrictions prevent us from parking on our road between 10am and 11am. But that means I can’t leave my car there during the day because I can’t very well come home and move it during that time.

“If the car park solves the problem and means that these restrictions can be lifted then it’s a good thing.

“I can’t get the train to work at the moment and have to take the car, it’s nonsense. It’s affecting everyone and has caused so much disruption. Something definitely needs to be done.”

Alison Harvey from Cloverly Road in Ongar used to park in Theydon Bois before the restrictions were put in place.

But she was forced to use a friend’s driveway in Epping to get to work when the yellow lines were introduced.

She said: “I’m on maternity leave now but before I left I couldn’t find anywhere to park and had to use my friend’s drive. I didn’t want to do that forever and I was looking into somewhere else to park when I go back to work.

“It will be great if they do make a car park and will certainly put my mind at rest.”

But not everyone welcomed the plans.

A spokeswoman from Theydon Bois Action Group (TBAG) said: “The business plan for the car park is unsustainable, the car park would be of no benefit to local people, it is too far from the station and it will cause traffic problems on a dangerous stretch of the Abridge Road.

“It will not alleviate parking problems in the village as commuters will continue to park for free on our roads.

“It would have to be lit and the access road stretching uphill will cause a significant loss of openness on the Green Belt.”

People have until January 20 to submit an opinion on the car park application.

Tags: , ,
Related Posts:

Car Parking a ‘Nightmare’ for Hospital Staff

January 25, 2009

WORKERS at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary today claimed they were being threatened with £20 fines for parking in free spaces.

They will no longer be allowed to leave their vehicles in empty visitor spaces if the staff car park is full.

The new rules have left many employees fuming.

Elizabeth Lloyd, 57, a nurse at the Foresterhill site, said staff are being urged to use the park and ride scheme to get to and from work.

But she said this did not suit everyone.

She said: “The park and ride is useless for people doing early shift.

“I start at 7am and the first bus doesn’t get in until 6.50am – which is too much of a push.

“Also I can work until 10pm and the park and ride closes at 8pm. It just won’t work.”

There are currently 730 spaces for staff in the car park and 400 for patients and visitors.

The visitor car park at the hospital became free of charge on January 1 but there are 5,500 staff at the complex.

The Scottish Government told NHS Grampian to reintroduce free parking at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin.

The move followed a high-profile Evening Express campaign to scrap the charges.

Source:    http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk

Tags: , ,
Related Posts:

Next Page »