China’s Brilliance Announces German Pricing for BS4 Sedan

Brilliance Auto, BMW's partner in China, announced on Tuesday that its BS4 compact sedan will be available in Germany from October 25 with prices starting at €15,990 or about $23,450 with the current exchange rates. The Pininfarina designed sedan that measures 4.65 meters in length (longer than a BMW 3-Series sedan) will be offered with a choice of two naturally aspirated 4-cylinder gasoline engines: a 100 HP 1.6-liter and a 136 HP 1.8-liter unit. For comparison’s sake, the smaller Ford Focus Sedan with an 80 HP 1.4-liter gasoline engine is priced in Germany from €17,750. -Continued

Brilliance already sells the larger BS6 sedan in Germany but the Chinese automaker received negative headlines in Europe last year when the BS6 failed miserably at ADAC’s crash tests gathering just one out of five stars. The Chinese automaker has said then that it would improve the car’s safety standards changing more than 60 components in order to achieve a better rating at ADAC’s crash tests.

China’s Brilliance Becomes Official Sponsor of Borussia Dortmund

What a better way to promote your goods in Europe than to become an official sponsor of a major soccer team like Germany’s Borussia Dortmund (BVB). The deal between HSO Motors Europe, the general importer of the Brilliance car brand in Europe and the German Premier League football team is for the 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 seasons, but the two parties have the option to extend the agreement. “In BVB, we have found the ideal partner to start our commitment to football. Football is not just the core of BVB, but has a fascination for Brilliance that far transcends any financial involvement,” said Hartwig Hirtz, Managing Director of Brilliance Motors Deutschland. -Continued

“We are looking forward to a long-term partnership and will be pleased to be able to contribute to the brand positioning of Brilliance in Germany via the Borussia Dortmund platform,” said Stefan Heitfeld, head of Sportfive - the Dortmund-based marketing partner of BVB.

Photo: BVB

Brilliance to Show Four Models in Detroit

China’s Brilliance Jinbei Automotive will show four models at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show in January 2009 according to a company spokesperson. The cars that will be on display at the Chinese automaker’s Detroit show booth will be the mid-sized sedan BS6, the compact sedan BS4, the BC3 sports coupe and the FRV hatchback. A Brilliance spokesperson said that the company expects to sell its first cars in the States sometime in 2009 without however providing any further information on its plans for U.S. dealers and distribution. Brilliance, which produces BMW's Chinese market cars through a join-venture partnership, has already set its foot in several European markets.

Via: ANE (sub. Req)

Brilliance BS4 Real-Life Crash Test

Not to be confused with the larger Brilliance BS6 that failed miserably in ADAC’s crash tests in Germany last year, the BS4 pictured here had the chance to prove its crash-worthiness in real-life conditions somewhere in China. The guys at CCT say that the driver of the Pininfarina designed BS4 lost control of the vehicle on the highway going about 100 km/h or 62 mph.

The car smashed the protective barrier and rolled over a couple of times before coming to a complete halt. The driver, who was the only occupant of the car, managed to escape with minor bruises though CCT says that BS4’s doors were stuck so he had to perform a “Dukes of Hazzard” style exit. -Continued

We’re not saying that the BS4 is safe; we’re not saying the opposite either. We saw the pictures of the crashed BS4 and with all the commotion concerning the safety of Chinese cars, we thought that it would be interesting to share.

Via: CCT , Source: Autohome