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Bravada · 08-05-2007, 11:03 AM

More competition for Excelle in China
Bravada reporting on recent websearch discoveries

Almost everybody knows that GM is doing really well in China, and that is in no small way thanks to the popularity of the Buick brand there. More well-versed GM fans know that the sales engine of Shanghai-GM in China is the compact Buick Excelle. And it is not a secret that the Buick Excelle is in fact the Daewoo Lacetti, a newer derivative of the Daewoo Nubira originally developed by the Korean now-subsidiary of GM.

The humble Daewoo Lacetti became one of the most desirable prestige cars in China

Alas, GM's growth is slowing down in the burgeoing Chinese market as more and more choices are presented to the Chinese customers looking for a practical, inexpensive and, in a way, prestigious family car. On the one hand, VW recently introduced the new fifth-gen Jetta as the FAW-VW Sagitar, PSA attacks the prestige end of the faimly car class with the C-Triomphe and 307 sedans (sedan developments of popular compact cars known elsewhere in their hatchback forms), and the locals previusly focusing on cheap small cars and Isuzu-pickup derivatives are now branching out to family sedans too, with examples such as the Byd F3 looking eerily similar to the Toyota Corolla.

Corolla? Honda City? No, it's the new BYD F3!

Citroën C4 with a backpack - the C-Triomphe is kept away from the discerning eyes of European customers

While GM still has one ace up its sleeve - the redesigned Excelle currently made in Taiwan, which has not yet made its way to the mainland - it seems like fending off competition will be getting tougher and tougher for the ageing Excelle. Recently, an offbeat news report signalled one more unexpected future competitor for the Excelle in China - the Lancia Lybra!

The Lancia Lybra - both the classy berlina and the graceful SW exude irrestistible Italian charm

Yes, it's the Lancia Lybra, Fiat's less-than-successful attempt at stealing some sales in the compact executive arena. Overshadowed by its more hyped cousin, the Car-Of-The-Year winning Alfa Romeo 156, the Lybra lingered in the dark corner of the market, not even achieving a fraction of the sales of competitors such as the Mercedes C-Klasse, BMW 3er, Audi A4 or even the Volvo 40-series, outside of its native Italy.

Lybra's predecessors, the Prisma and the Dedra - not quite hot sellers...

The Lybra followed Lancia's long tradition of building "almost-midsize" cars - two of its predecessors, the Prisma and the Dedra, were essentially the sedan and wagon versions of the famous Delta hatchbacks, but despite that, they did not sell well either. There were some reasons for that - in spite of the prestige badge, and quite lavish specifications for the day, they were still compact FWD cars, with the sedan/wagon conversion not always done to the best effect.

All new, with those heritage-inspired headlamps... The Lybra did have quite a bit going for it!

To be fair, Lybra was much better suited for its task - with the Delta dropped after two generations, the Lybra was a standalone model, with its own chassis based loosely on the Alfa 156's, but with its own suspension different from the Alfa's (or its distant cousin's, Fiat Marea), it was styled from day one as a sedan and wagon, with clean, flowing lines, classy heritage-inspired stylin cues and the last-minute addition of a front end drawing on the 1950s Lancia Aurelia (which was received with mixed feelings and remained a one-off between the more squarish Greek-letter-named Lancias of the previous decades and the later jewel-headlighted Thesis, Musa and Ypsilon).

Interior quality, design and equipment set the Lybra apart from contemporary family-sized cars.

Inside, there was also a lot to speak for the Lybra, with a nicely laid-out dash and high-quality materials, especially the plush alcantara upholstery, which became something of a hallmark for modern Lancias. The selection of engines was impressive, including Fiat's five-cylinder two-litre and the then-revolutionary JTD diesels (later also found in GM cars). In spite of that, Lancia's insistence on marketing the car as an alternative to intermediate-sized premium sedan (and thus keeping the prices rather high), while funnelling most of the skimpy prestige marketing resources of the already endangered concern to Alfa Romeo, kept the Lybra a perennial underdog in most European market. Its gradual dropping from European markets, culminating with the end of sales and production in Italy in 2005 without a direct replacement, was barely noticed by the European automotive media.

The attention to detail is expressed in many design elements, one of the most prominent being the unique taillights of both body styles - the berlina's later found a new life in the rear quarters of the facelifted Fiat Marea sedan in Latin America!

But now, it seems that the Lybra will enjoy a brand new life in China, joining many other slightly forgotten nameplates. One China's up-and-coming automakers, the Zotye Group, has announced their agreement with Fiat to start Lybra production in the PRC. Essentially, Fiat's involvement is minimal - the transaction stipulates for all tooling and intellectual property pertaining to the discontinued Lybra, as well as its basic 1.6-litre engine (replaced in recent Fiat models by the all-new fuel-sipping turboed 1.4's) to be sold to Zotye, with no further license payments made to Fiat, but also with no involvement of Fiat in production or marketing of the car, which is to bear an oh-so-inspired name of Zotye JN-X1.

Loved by UK families, hated by conservatives around the world - will the Multipla take the final bow and head to China?

As the 156/Lybra platform is apparently not to be used anymore, replaced by the aborted child of Fiat-GM partnership, the Premium Platform at Alfa Romeo, it seems like it was a good way for making a few quick bucks on assets already written-off by Fiat. Seems like it is not the only one, as reports go further to indicate the unique love-it-or-hate-it Multipla compact minivan, featuring six independent seats in two rows, is to join the Lybra at Zotye in 2008. The sources state the first Chinese Multiplas will be built out of CKD kits shipped from Italy, but with the imminent end of the 1996-born tired Multipla looms, it might be that it will share the fate of the Lybra. This might also indicate the new Multipla, if at all created, will not share any of its underpinnings with the old Bravo/Brava/Marea-based one.

The facelifted Excelle from Yulon in Taiwan - will it make it to mainland China?

Anyway, Lancia Lybra, oh sorry, Zotye JN-X1 production starts in autumn 2008 in China, which is still more than a year away, but I'd say the outlook is promising for the Italian emigrante. It was originally created with the same aim as the Excelle - to become an upscale compact family car, with bells, whistles and prestige - but without the baggage of being essentially a budget compact car for developing markets from an automaker of not-so-stellar record. The Lybra debuted in 1999, while the original Lacetti is a 2002 model, receiving a few facelifts in the meantime (including the expected Taiwanese one for the Excelle), while Fiat dosed any refreshments for its little dame very sparingly.

The Zotye and the Terios - resemblance not purely accidental

Zotye is also no SAIC - the company was previously mostly known for the manufacturing of its Zotye2008 mini-SUV, which is essentially a knock-off of the Daihatsu (or, as the Chinese know it, Dario) Terios, which hardly generated any positive press for the company. The Lybra will join former MG Rover models in its quest to use any of the premium magic and good design and engineering left in the aging body to woo Chinese customers. Whether it will work or not, remains to be seen. But given all the goodness of the original Lybra, GM should not overlook this new competitor.

Links:
One of the earlier reports from the reputable Italiaspeed.com
One of the scarce English-language reports on the completion of the transaction.
Another one, expanding on the specifics of the deal and mentioning the Multipla
The Spanish Autoblog was first to inform the Western world of the new Yulon Excelle - and provide lots of pics!
Italiaspeed sums up the Lybra's biography (to date)
Pics and specs of the Lybra in a convenient format (with Imperial conversion!) on Globalautoindex

Dear moderators, it took me some time to complete this research and the writeup to broaden the views of GMI members on the global situation of GM. If Hyundai's new TV campaign in the US is so worthy of GMI folk attention that it makes the news ticker, I believe so does it.

08-05-2007, 11:03 AM	#1 (permalink)
Bravada GMI Europe Correspondent Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Warsaw, Poland Posts: 11,359	Pressure building up on Excelle in China More competition for Excelle in China Bravada reporting on recent websearch discoveries Almost everybody knows that GM is doing really well in China, and that is in no small way thanks to the popularity of the Buick brand there. More well-versed GM fans know that the sales engine of Shanghai-GM in China is the compact Buick Excelle. And it is not a secret that the Buick Excelle is in fact the Daewoo Lacetti, a newer derivative of the Daewoo Nubira originally developed by the Korean now-subsidiary of GM. The humble Daewoo Lacetti became one of the most desirable prestige cars in China Alas, GM's growth is slowing down in the burgeoing Chinese market as more and more choices are presented to the Chinese customers looking for a practical, inexpensive and, in a way, prestigious family car. On the one hand, VW recently introduced the new fifth-gen Jetta as the FAW-VW Sagitar, PSA attacks the prestige end of the faimly car class with the C-Triomphe and 307 sedans (sedan developments of popular compact cars known elsewhere in their hatchback forms), and the locals previusly focusing on cheap small cars and Isuzu-pickup derivatives are now branching out to family sedans too, with examples such as the Byd F3 looking eerily similar to the Toyota Corolla. Corolla? Honda City? No, it's the new BYD F3! Citroën C4 with a backpack - the C-Triomphe is kept away from the discerning eyes of European customers While GM still has one ace up its sleeve - the redesigned Excelle currently made in Taiwan, which has not yet made its way to the mainland - it seems like fending off competition will be getting tougher and tougher for the ageing Excelle. Recently, an offbeat news report signalled one more unexpected future competitor for the Excelle in China - the Lancia Lybra! The Lancia Lybra - both the classy berlina and the graceful SW exude irrestistible Italian charm Yes, it's the Lancia Lybra, Fiat's less-than-successful attempt at stealing some sales in the compact executive arena. Overshadowed by its more hyped cousin, the Car-Of-The-Year winning Alfa Romeo 156, the Lybra lingered in the dark corner of the market, not even achieving a fraction of the sales of competitors such as the Mercedes C-Klasse, BMW 3er, Audi A4 or even the Volvo 40-series, outside of its native Italy. Lybra's predecessors, the Prisma and the Dedra - not quite hot sellers... The Lybra followed Lancia's long tradition of building "almost-midsize" cars - two of its predecessors, the Prisma and the Dedra, were essentially the sedan and wagon versions of the famous Delta hatchbacks, but despite that, they did not sell well either. There were some reasons for that - in spite of the prestige badge, and quite lavish specifications for the day, they were still compact FWD cars, with the sedan/wagon conversion not always done to the best effect. All new, with those heritage-inspired headlamps... The Lybra did have quite a bit going for it! To be fair, Lybra was much better suited for its task - with the Delta dropped after two generations, the Lybra was a standalone model, with its own chassis based loosely on the Alfa 156's, but with its own suspension different from the Alfa's (or its distant cousin's, Fiat Marea), it was styled from day one as a sedan and wagon, with clean, flowing lines, classy heritage-inspired stylin cues and the last-minute addition of a front end drawing on the 1950s Lancia Aurelia (which was received with mixed feelings and remained a one-off between the more squarish Greek-letter-named Lancias of the previous decades and the later jewel-headlighted Thesis, Musa and Ypsilon). Interior quality, design and equipment set the Lybra apart from contemporary family-sized cars. Inside, there was also a lot to speak for the Lybra, with a nicely laid-out dash and high-quality materials, especially the plush alcantara upholstery, which became something of a hallmark for modern Lancias. The selection of engines was impressive, including Fiat's five-cylinder two-litre and the then-revolutionary JTD diesels (later also found in GM cars). In spite of that, Lancia's insistence on marketing the car as an alternative to intermediate-sized premium sedan (and thus keeping the prices rather high), while funnelling most of the skimpy prestige marketing resources of the already endangered concern to Alfa Romeo, kept the Lybra a perennial underdog in most European market. Its gradual dropping from European markets, culminating with the end of sales and production in Italy in 2005 without a direct replacement, was barely noticed by the European automotive media. The attention to detail is expressed in many design elements, one of the most prominent being the unique taillights of both body styles - the berlina's later found a new life in the rear quarters of the facelifted Fiat Marea sedan in Latin America! But now, it seems that the Lybra will enjoy a brand new life in China, joining many other slightly forgotten nameplates. One China's up-and-coming automakers, the Zotye Group, has announced their agreement with Fiat to start Lybra production in the PRC. Essentially, Fiat's involvement is minimal - the transaction stipulates for all tooling and intellectual property pertaining to the discontinued Lybra, as well as its basic 1.6-litre engine (replaced in recent Fiat models by the all-new fuel-sipping turboed 1.4's) to be sold to Zotye, with no further license payments made to Fiat, but also with no involvement of Fiat in production or marketing of the car, which is to bear an oh-so-inspired name of Zotye JN-X1. Loved by UK families, hated by conservatives around the world - will the Multipla take the final bow and head to China? As the 156/Lybra platform is apparently not to be used anymore, replaced by the aborted child of Fiat-GM partnership, the Premium Platform at Alfa Romeo, it seems like it was a good way for making a few quick bucks on assets already written-off by Fiat. Seems like it is not the only one, as reports go further to indicate the unique love-it-or-hate-it Multipla compact minivan, featuring six independent seats in two rows, is to join the Lybra at Zotye in 2008. The sources state the first Chinese Multiplas will be built out of CKD kits shipped from Italy, but with the imminent end of the 1996-born tired Multipla looms, it might be that it will share the fate of the Lybra. This might also indicate the new Multipla, if at all created, will not share any of its underpinnings with the old Bravo/Brava/Marea-based one. The facelifted Excelle from Yulon in Taiwan - will it make it to mainland China? Anyway, Lancia Lybra, oh sorry, Zotye JN-X1 production starts in autumn 2008 in China, which is still more than a year away, but I'd say the outlook is promising for the Italian emigrante. It was originally created with the same aim as the Excelle - to become an upscale compact family car, with bells, whistles and prestige - but without the baggage of being essentially a budget compact car for developing markets from an automaker of not-so-stellar record. The Lybra debuted in 1999, while the original Lacetti is a 2002 model, receiving a few facelifts in the meantime (including the expected Taiwanese one for the Excelle), while Fiat dosed any refreshments for its little dame very sparingly. The Zotye and the Terios - resemblance not purely accidental Zotye is also no SAIC - the company was previously mostly known for the manufacturing of its Zotye2008 mini-SUV, which is essentially a knock-off of the Daihatsu (or, as the Chinese know it, Dario) Terios, which hardly generated any positive press for the company. The Lybra will join former MG Rover models in its quest to use any of the premium magic and good design and engineering left in the aging body to woo Chinese customers. Whether it will work or not, remains to be seen. But given all the goodness of the original Lybra, GM should not overlook this new competitor. Links: One of the earlier reports from the reputable Italiaspeed.com One of the scarce English-language reports on the completion of the transaction. Another one, expanding on the specifics of the deal and mentioning the Multipla The Spanish Autoblog was first to inform the Western world of the new Yulon Excelle - and provide lots of pics! Italiaspeed sums up the Lybra's biography (to date) Pics and specs of the Lybra in a convenient format (with Imperial conversion!) on Globalautoindex Dear moderators, it took me some time to complete this research and the writeup to broaden the views of GMI members on the global situation of GM. If Hyundai's new TV campaign in the US is so worthy of GMI folk attention that it makes the news ticker, I believe so does it. Last edited by Bravada : 08-05-2007 at 11:42 AM.

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