Latest from Namrita Chow

SHANGHAI -- Despite police raids and government crackdowns, production of illegal counterfeit auto parts is so widespread in China that it has fueled a worldwide boom in the trafficking of bogus aftermarket parts. Worldwide, counterfeit parts will generate sales of $45 billion (307 billion yuan) this year, up from 82 billion yuan in 2008, estimates the consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. As much as 83 percent of those components are produced in China, according to the Japan Auto Parts Industries Association.

SHANGHAI -- Car loans in China are soaring as automakers' captive loan operations make financing easily available. GMAC-SAIC Automotive Finance Co., for example, generated $944 million in auto loan originations in the last three months of 2010, up 97 percent over the year-earlier period. That's a huge increase for a market that still relies primarily on cash transactions. Last year, only 10 percent of car buyers in China received loans to purchase a car -- only a fraction of the 80 percent rate in developed markets, said Susanne Gehrling of GMAC international operations.

SHANGHAI -- Following a strong year in 2010, Porsche AG is looking to expand its dealer network into China's interior markets. The German carmaker, which currently has 31 Porsche dealerships in mainland China, plans to open 10 dealerships a year, Porsche China CEO Helmut Broeker [pictured] says. With strong sales growth in Tier 2 and 3 cities, Porsche has customers deep in China's interior, Broeker said. "Now we have dealerships in places like Taiyuan in Shaanxi province and even Erdos in Inner Mongolia," he said.

SHANGHAI -- Fuel pump supplier Hui Run Electrical Machinery Co. says it expects annual sales this year to rise 17 percent to 350 million yuan ($53 million), boosted by sales of MPVs in China. The company - which also is called ACHR - makes fuel pumps for MPVs made by Nissan and Iveco in China, says Wang Jin Wu, the company's head of domestic original-equipment sales. This year, the company will supply 25,000 fuel pumps for MPVs made by Zhengzhou Nissan Automobile Co., says Wang. In 2011, sales to Zhengzhou Nissan will increase to 35,000 units, he says.

SHANGHAI -- Nuts and bolts manufacturer Zhejiang Rio Tinto Auto Parts Co. expects sales to jump 40 percent in 2011. The company makes control arms and camshafts as well as bolts for passenger cars and trucks. Sales were stagnant in 2008 and 2009, according to Chairman Wang Chang Song. He declined to say how much revenue the company expects to generate this year.

SHANGHAI -- German automotive supplier group Freudenberg Group expects annual sales in China will jump 33 percent to 3 billion yuan ($452 million) this year, says a senior company executive. "We see no slowdown of customer demand," said Hanno D. Wentzler, CEO of Freudenberg Chemical Specialties KG. "Many of our factories are running at full capacity." Automotive sales account for half of Freudenberg's total sales in China. Last year, China generated 5.6 percent of Freudenberg's global revenue - both automotive and non-automotive - more than twice the share it generated in 2000.

SHANGHAI -- Japanese audio system maker Alpine Electronics Inc. wants to quintuple its China sales by 2015, says a senior executive. The company is expanding production capacity at plants in Liaoning and Jiangsu provinces, and is increasing sales to domestic Chinese automakers, said Naoki Mizuno [pictured], president of Alpine Electronics China Co. This year, sales are 20 percent higher than in 2009, Mizuno said. He declined to disclose further financial details.

Donghai -- Robert Bosch GmbH says it will expand production of antilock brakes and electronic stability control systems in China by building a second factory in Suzhou, in Jiangsu province. The plant will be completed next May, says Ferdinando Sorrentino [pictured], regional president of Bosch Chassis Systems Control China. Bosch's existing plant in Suzhou can produce up to 2 million sets of antilock brakes and stability control systems each year.

SHANGHAI -- German vibration control specialist Vibracoustic GmbH has launched production at its first wholly owned manufacturing facility in China. The plant - called Vibracoustic Yantai Co. - is based in the east coast province of Shandong. The factory makes bushings for passenger cars and air springs for commercial vehicles. Passenger cars account for 85 percent of Vibracoustic's component sales, while commercial vehicles generate 15 percent.

SHANGHAI -- German supplier ContiTech AG has begun production of automotive hoses at a new plant in Changchun in the northeast province of Jilin. The factory makes air conditioner hoses, and also hoses for power steering, fuel lines and vehicle exhaust. The 3 million euro (27 million yuan) facility is three times larger than the plant it replaces.