GUANGZHOU -- Another major state-owned Chinese automaker, Dongfeng Motor Corp., is looking to launch two sedans under its own badge in the first half of this year.

 

Although it has passenger vehicle joint ventures with Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp. and PSA Peugeot Citroen, Dongfeng itself is mainly a truck maker at present.

 

The two sedans are being developed as part of the company's plan to build a full line of its own passenger vehicles in the coming few years.

 

"If nothing special happens, the two models will be launched in the first half of 2009," says Dongfeng's spokesperson Zhou Mi.

 

Zhou confirms his company has just got approvals from the central Chinese government to produce the two models with product codes of EQ7240 and DFM7160.

 

He says the EQ7240 is a sporty sedan developed from a coupe concept that the company debuted at the Beijing auto show in 2006.

 

Zhou says the EQ7240 carries a 2.4-liter gasoline engine. The concept car that debuted in 2006 carried a 2.4-liter gasoline engine from Mitsubishi Motors Corp.'s engine joint venture in China, and an unspecified five-speed manual transmission.

 

He adds the other model, the DFM 7160, is a 1.6-liter gasoline sedan. He declines to give more details about the car.

 

Zhou says the two new models will both carry Dongfeng's own badge, but they were developed by different teams and will be produced in different places.

 

Zhou says the EQ7240 was in fact developed by Dongfeng Rongcheng Auto Co. with Dongfeng's "technical support."

 

Dongfeng Rongcheng, located in Shandong province, is a small joint venture between Dongfeng and a local automaker. Dongfeng has a 51 percent stake in the company.

 

"The EQ7240 will be produced in Dongfeng Rongcheng," Zhou says.

 

But the DFM7160 was developed by Dongfeng's own engineers and will be produced in the company's passenger vehicle production base in the central China city of Wuhan.

 

Dongfeng started building a plant for its own brand cars in late 2007 with an initial capacity of 160,000 units a year. The plant is scheduled to start operation in early 2009.