Porsche looking to China for production of Cajun CUV

When Porsche was integrated into the Volkswagen group, its new parent company set an ambitious sales target for its latest division: 150,000 units annually. That would require a 50% increase in sales, but Porsche figures it can hit the far more ambitious target of 200,000 units per year for a 100% increase.

To get there, however, Porsche realizes its current production capacity will not be enough. And so it will need to produce vehicles at additional facilities, which could include plants in the United States and China.

The latter would seem a logical first step as the Audi Q5, on which the upcoming Cajun SUV is based, is already being built in China. Beyond the Cajun, however, production in the United States – still the biggest market for Porsche – could be in the cards within a few years.

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Gallery Suzuki SX4 and SX4 Sedan Facelift Revealed in China

Suzuki’s joint-venture in China, Changan-Suzuki, has released a facelift version of the SX4 crossover for the domestic market. Not surprisingly, both the hatchback and sedan variants of the updated SX4 feature the same aesthetic changes as the European version of the car that was scooped undisguised last December. These include the redesigned bumper, reworked grille and concave surfaces above the fog lights as well as a new skid-plate at the rear of the hatchback.

For those that like to pay attention to insignificant details, the China-market and, from the looks of it, the European-spec 2010 SX4′s subtly redesign front-end is no different than the one found on the North American market SX4 that has been around since 2006…

The Chine-spec SX4s also feature updated interior trim and a new GPS navigation system.

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Hummer modified in China at the 2008 Auto China

A Hummer modified in China at the 2008 Auto China show in Beijing

Some Americans may not be comfortable with the idea, but China is a force to be reckoned with. And now it might even save about 3,000 American jobs.

General Motors has a tentative agreement with Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. of China, which plans to purchase Hummer. If the deal goes through, the new owner of Hummer would contract GM to continue building the Hummer H3 and H3T at their Shreveport, La., plant at least through 2010.

That move, along with saving dealership jobs, would save thousands of manufacturing jobs. It’s hard to find fault in a sale that benefits newly bankrupt GM and saves American jobs.

Even so, it’s hard to look past the irony of an iconic American military-vehicle-turned-civilian-SUV being owned by a Chinese company. We might as well sell the New York Yankees and our patent on apple pie to the Chinese government, too.

What I’m having trouble understanding is how Hummer’s new owner intends to make money. Hummer’s sales dropped nearly 70% in the first four months of this year, and I’m not sure Chinese ownership is a change that will lend itself to sales improvements in this country.

Maybe that’s the point, though. GM has had success with Buick in China, and maybe Sichuan Tengzhong plans to do the same with Hummer. If that’s the case, it’s probably only a matter of time before Hummers will be shipped with the words “Made in China” engraved into the sheet metal.

I guess I should just quit complaining. An Indian company owns Jaguar, and now a Chinese company will likely own Hummer. Maybe it’s time for a U.S. company to buy Kia and complete the circle in this bizzaro new world.

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