Chinese automotive company Lifan Motors has announced plans for production of new models and prospects for their appearance in Russia at a press conference held in the office of Lifan Motors in Chongqing for a group of Russian journalists.
Lifan H60 SUV, the nearest novelty for Russia-the model of Lifan x60 SUV is already off the pipeline. It's a crossover, designed and constructed in a clear resemblance to Toyota RAV4. As long as the Chinese have only front-wheel-drive versions of the vehicle, the full drive will appear before the end of this year. The structure of the transmission is structurally traditional for the crossover of this class: the moment on the rear axle is transmitted by the cross-axis automatically, based on the difference between the rotational speed of the front and rear wheels. No additional non-road capability is envisaged. Lifan x60 is a candidate for assembly in Russia at the Derweiss plant. It is expected that its production will start in April 2012 after all stages of Russian certification and preparation of equipment. The "Uzk" of these issues is being handled by the Director General of the Lifan Industry Mu Gunn. Since 2012, Lifan will start a "mop" of the entire range of four base cars. Lifan 320 and Lifan 620 (in Russia they are sold as Smily and Solano, respectively) will get updated design and more modern interior, it will be fake without constructive changes, except that Solano will start to pick engine 1. 8 VVT. And the model 520 (Breeze) will be replaced with a completely new development, which has the current label of Lifan 520 New. Lifan 520 New New "500" gets engine 1. 3 and 1. 5 and wheel base 2550 mm (now-2540 mm) at a total length of 4,300 mm. A option is provided as a variator. Lifan 520 New will appear in May 2012. A little more distant prospect of "Lifan" is the introduction into the production program of three new series-4th, 7th and 8th. It is not difficult to guess that with the increase in the index the number of cars is growing. Thus, having six sedans, Lifan is about to close down all major market niches. The fourth series will be presented by the Lifan 420 model, the design of which, according to the sketch shown, is quite contemporary. Lifan 420 However, even a non-specialist will find an obvious stylistic similarity to some Citroen models. So obvious that even the emblem on the hood of Lifan 420 resembled the Sitrophin chevrons. Lifan 420 is positioned as a cost-effective urban youth hatchback, more expensive than model 320. 420. Deb 420 is expected in 2014 with 1.3 and 1.5 liters and a wheelbase of 2460 mm. On another level of prestige, the model 720 is worth the project, this is a middle-class sedan with a length of 4,700 mm and a wheelbase of 2700 mm. It will only be picked up by engine 1. 8 VVT and continuously variable transmission. Lifan 720 is scheduled for the second quarter of 2012. Lifan 720 last of the long-term Lifan 820 light weight model (the same symbol used in his time Rover, but now he claims it will not be able to present this plagiarism for objective reasons). Lifan 820 This is the business class model, its length is 4825 mm, and the wheelbase is 2775 mm. It is expected to pick up a Lifan 820 with 2.0/2.5 liters and 6-speed "mechanics" or 6-speed "robot" DCT with two clutches similar to the Volkswagen. The model will be available in October 2013. The Chinese are called Lifan 820 "with a strong weapon to conquer the Russian market." They are generally convinced that the time of cheap models passes and the demand of Russians moves to larger and more expensive cars. In the SUV Lifan category, it planned to launch another model larger than the h60. As long as it bears the legend of the Lifan Large SUV, the exact index will be closer to the start of production for 2014. Large SUV is a 4785 mm long crossover and 2790 mm (more than GW Hover), the engines will be the same as the model 820, and the transmission will be the classic Jatco (truth, Chinese) fluid transformer. The drive layout will also remain a pure crossover, a permanent front drive with automatic rear axle connection. Lifan Large SUV All these models have the prospect of being in the pipeline of the Darweys plant. It is difficult to say what guides the marketers of "Lipana", arguing that Russia will always be in demand of large and expensive models of China-Russia production. Apparently, these statements are made "just in case" to simply highlight the interest of "Lifan" in the Russian market, where he is an unambiguous leader today from Chinese brands. Lifan has created a whole program to improve its image in Russia. It includes such events as the creation of the own monobrene salon in Moscow and the warehouse of spare parts. A publicity campaign is also being carried out. All this, according to the Lyphanovans, should improve the brand's image, bringing it closer to countries such as Chile and Brazil (there are the strongest image positions in Lyphana). In 2010, Lifan gathered 770 cars at the Derweiss, and 12,893 cars were already in the three quarters of this year. Over the next two years, the Chinese are planning to enter annual sales in Russia for 30,000 cars, which will be facilitated by new models and overall market growth. But with long-term plans, it is not clear everything is clear, it is unclear nothing. The fact is that such large-scale Chinese expansion cannot be left without the attention of Russian regulators, traditionally on the side of Russian car factories. At the moment, the control package "Derweiss" also belongs to the state structure-Sberbank, and if the Ministry of Trade has inconvenient questions to the Chinese, the main shareholder can adjust their plans. Even though Russia's accession to the WTO is expected by the end of the year, there is plenty of mechanisms for "correction" in the state. Therefore, the direct question was asked: do they have plans for their own investments in Russian production in the form of purchase of the stock "Derwais" or the construction of their own assembly plant? This would protect the Lifan from surprises and better any advertising campaigns would confirm interest in the Russian market. Unfortunately, it is from the answer to this question by the CEO of the Lifan Industry Moo Gunn delicately departed, promising to clarify the situation after the negotiations with Derweiss. I mean, literally the other day.