[m14]

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - Dongfeng Motor Corp, PSA Peugeot Citroen's lone joint venture partner in China, said it is in talks to buy an unspecified stake in Hafei Automobile Group.

However, Donfeng Motors spokesman Hu Xindong told XFN-Asia that the automaker's talks with Hafei do not involve Peugeot (other-otc: PEUGY.PK - news - people ) , which earlier this year signed a draft agreement with Hafei to explore the possibility of setting up a 50-50 joint venture to build passenger vehicles in China.

He declined to give further details.

Carmaker Hafei is controlled by China Aviation Industry Corp II (AVIC II).

forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2007/12/03/afx4396018.html

 

[CCF mod]

Dongfeng plans to take over Hafei Auto, government official confirms

The article from Global Auto Sourcing.

Dongfeng may plan to offer 2 billion yuan ($270.54 million) to buy at least 50 percent stakes of Hafei Group, Chinese newspaper 21st Century Business report reported yesterday.

Citing an unnamed source from Hafei Group, the report said PSA Peugeot Citroen’s plan to cooperate with Hafei has been scrapped. However, Hafei Group’s owner AviChina Industry & Technology Company is in talks with PAS Peugeot Citroen, which offers 2 billion yuan ($270.54 million) to take over at least 50 percent stakes of Hafei Group.

Separately, a National Development and Reform Commission official confirmed to the newspaper that the talks between Dongfeng and Hafei’s owner has been going on for months.

However, senior officials from both side declined to comment on the possible tie-up.

PSA Peugeot Citroen and Hafei Group signed a memorandum of understanding in July that the two parties will create a 50-50 joint venture to manufacture and sell vans with ten seats or less in Shenzhen.

Denis Duchesne, CEO of the French carmaker's China operations, said the vans will be made under the Peugeot, Citroen and Hafei badges with an initial capacity of 100,000 units a year. Currently Hafei's production base in Shenzhen already has a production capacity of 100,000 units. The tie-up with Hafei is PSA Peugeot Citroen's latest drive to boost its China sales to 600,000 vehicles in 2010 from 200,000 units last year, Duchesne said.

The French carmaker currently assembles cars in the central city of Wuhan with Dongfeng Motor Corp, China's No. 3 auto group. However, it is still lagging behind its rivals in terms of China sales. General Motors, Volkswagen, Toyota and Honda all run two vehicle ventures in the country with local partners.

 

[m14]

Dongfeng motor going to buy big stake in HAFEI?

that is the rumour, i think this is great since more of these chinese brands need to share resources and merge so theres a few big, great ones with big R&D

WUHAN, China — Dongfeng Auto, one of China's largest automotive groups, has proposed to acquire a controlling interest in Hafei Auto, a minicar specialist, for a reported $270 million.

If successful, the move could scuttle French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroën's planned tie-up with Hafei to build compact vans in Shenzhen, according to Chinese media reports. Curiously, PSA has long been partnered with Dongfeng in Wuhan, making passenger cars under both the Peugeot and Citroën brands.

A combined Dongfeng/Hafei group would rival FAW and SAIC in both sales volume and product portfolio.

Hafei is controlled by the China Aviation Industry Corp., also known as AviChina.

 

[mrgq]

Dongfeng motor might BUY HAFEI AUTO!!!!!!

do you guys think this would be good or bad??? i think it will be good!! All these small auto makers need to eventually consolidate if they want to enter the WORLD INTERNATIONAL auto market

China's third-largest car maker Dongfeng Motor Group Co is in talks to acquire smaller home rival Hafei Automobile Group, people close to the deal said.



The buyout might be the latest merger and acquisition deal in China's auto industry following the alliance of SAIC Motor and Nanjing Auto last month as the nation encourages industrial tie-ups to increase competitiveness against overseas peers.



Wuhan-based Dongfeng has already launched a due diligence probe against the mini van maker Hafei, the people, who preferred to remain anonymous, said yesterday.



Zhou Mi, a spokesman of Dongfeng Motor, didn't deny the possible takeover, saying he was not aware of the issue yet. Officials from Hafei were not available for comment yesterday.



Details of the deal emerged as part of consolidation plans of China National Aviation Corp Group, or CNAC, which plans to exit the auto business and focus on the airline and aviation-related sector.



CNAC, the parent company of China's second-largest carrier Air China, also has other auto-related assets in an engine manufacturer and Chang He Auto, the Chinese partner of Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp.



"Dongfeng will benefit from an expanded output with Hafei's facilities in north China and a more complete product line-up with its small engine-sized vehicle," said Dong Jianhua, an auto analyst at Southwest Securities Co Ltd.



"The deal will also help Hafei enter the profitable and passenger car segment."



(Shanghai Daily January 25, 2008)

 

[dragin]

This is a win win for both I think. Foreign capital like Naza Group, Peugeot, Martrade, Miles Auto, Shelburg's China Motor Corp, and others have recognized the Hafei quality edge. It would give Hafei the credibility and stability that it needs to go deeper into the global market, while also boosting Dongfeng's global aspirations.

 

[dragin]

Hafei going places?

Dongfeng knows that Hafei is no stranger to the U.S., witness this spotting.

http://community.myride.com/kickapp...ed-in-California/BLOG/14517/3898.html?as=3898

But is this just a Miles Automotive electric conversion prototype or is it one of those Hafei vehicles that China Motor is said to be testing at the FEV labs in Auburn Hills, Michigan?

 

[CCF mod]

Dongfeng - Hafei merger less likely

China Aviation Group to boost auto-making business.

June 24, 2008 - China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I) and China Aviation Industry Corporation II (AVIC II) will be merged to form a new China Aviation Industry Group Corporation, and one of its top priorities is to expand its auto business. Dongfeng Motor's investment in AVIC II's subsidiary Hafei Auto is put on the table again.

Currently, AVIC II has three auto-making subsidiaries (Hafei Auto, Changhe Auto, Shaanxi Hanjiang Auto) and two engine manufacturers (Harbin Dongan Auto Engine Co., Ltd., Harbin Dongan Engine Manufacturing Corp. which is a joint venture with Mitsubishi); the auto businesses of AVIC I include the Silver Bus, Jincheng Motorcycle and Chengfei Auto Die.

The new group will not give up the automobile businesses of both the current corporations, because these businesses will be closely related to the new group's future interest. "To maximize the benefits of the group is one of the prerequisites for our decision to expand the auto-making business," said an official of the preparatory committee of the group. The group will integrate all the auto businesses of the two corporations to build up a competitive auto-making giant in China's auto industry.

The founding of the new China China Aviation Industry Group Corporation will further delay Dongfeng Motor's plan to invest in Hafei Auto. In June 2007, French carmaker PSA Peugeot-Citroen and Hafei signed a memo to build a 50-50 joint venture for making small cars at Hafei's Shenzhen plant for China market. But China's regulator has required PSA to tie up with Hafei through PSA's big Chinese partner Dongfeng Motor. The investment talks have undergone ups and downs for one year, but no result has come on the horizon yet.

The widespread rumor that Jiangxi Changhe Auto would be acquired by China's auto-making giants such as Beijing Auto or Changan Auto was also spiked last month by Changhe Auto's general manager, who said the company will become an important automaking part of the new China Aviation Industry Group Corporation.

source: Gasgoo.com