AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)03/05 Report--

Under the background of national promotion of energy conservation and emission reduction, automobile enterprises including BMW, Geely, Honda, Volkswagen, etc. have developed and promoted three-cylinder engine models for six times, but they have not been popularized on a large scale. In contrast, GM's three-cylinder engine is almost more exciting. Its models include Buick Yinglang, Weilang, Xueonkola, Chevrolet Cruze, Cruze and other models only have three-cylinder engine options. Consumers believe that three-cylinder machines have greater drawbacks, compared with four-cylinder machines will still choose.

Earlier media reports said that GM will add four-cylinder engines while implementing the "three-cylinder engine" plan in China. At present, SAIC GM has declared to carry four-cylinder engines on key models.

Could it be that the three-cylinder engine really didn't work? Qian Huikang, president of GM China, doesn't think much. He says he is still confident in the three-cylinder engine technology. From the perspective of fuel consumption and power output, the three-cylinder engine still has great advantages. However, many consumers have certain concerns about the three-cylinder machine, so in the future, the option of four-cylinder machine will be added for some models to provide consumers with a richer product portfolio and more choice space.

General Motors plans to restart plans for a three-cylinder engine on some models after the launch of the three-cylinder engine in China was blocked. "Because the Chinese market is large enough, it will have a greater say in product development and its new products will be more targeted to the Chinese market," said Qian.

China is GM's largest market and one of its most important. The u.s. automaker is restructuring its global operations to phase out markets where returns are inadequate and put money into more promising businesses and markets.

Last month, GM announced that it would end sales and engineering in Australia and new Zealand by 2021, sell its Rayong plant in Thailand to Great Wall Motors and plan to withdraw the Chevrolet brand from the local market. GM has withdrawn from several markets, including Western Europe, Japan, India and Russia.

China is GM's largest market. GM sold 3.09 million vehicles in China in 2019, down 15 per cent year-on-year, according to sales figures. In the face of declining sales in China, GM said it would work on two fronts: optimizing its product mix and advancing the development and launch of electric vehicles.

Next, gm will invest heavily in future technologies. By the end of 2020, GM will have launched more than 10 new energy vehicles in China. The manufacturer previously planned to launch 10 electric models in China between 2016-2020 and 2021-2023.

In addition, in response to the impact of the epidemic on GM, Qian Huikang said the epidemic had no impact on GM's long-term development plans in China, including local investment plans.

At present, corresponding stimulus policies are being introduced to rescue the market, Qian Huikang believes, considering the impact of the epidemic on sales and resumption of work. We hope that the comprehensive switching of national VI emission standards originally scheduled to start on July 1 this year can be postponed appropriately. This will effectively alleviate the pressure on dealers to inventory and the difficulties of enterprises.

It is understood that GM's China headquarters has officially resumed work since February 10. In the past three weeks, employees have been working from home. On March 2, employees have returned to the office for six times. In production and sales, GM's factories and dealers in China are gradually returning to work.

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