Apart from all the styling copies of current, North American vehicles at the Beijing show, Honda made the surprise announcement that it would launch a third car brand, specifically for the Chinese market. The brand — called Li Nian — reminds us of the Acura brand launching back in 1986 specifically in North America and Hong Kong.
Just like Toyota ’s Scion brand, Li Nian is aimed to appeal to a younger demographic. The brand will debut in China with a Honda Fit -based five-door SUV in 2010. The styling came from Honda ’s Chinese design studio, and will reflect the look of models to come. No specs were revealed, but Autocar believes the car will be powered by a 1.8 liter gasoline four-cylinder. Even the name, which translates to Subject from Chinese, isn’t guaranteed to be used for the final name.
The car was developed in conjunction with China’s Guangzhou Automobile Group, Honda’s long-standing partner. Guangzhou already builds the Honda Odyssey , Accord and Fit for the Chinese market, and exports some Fits to Europe. The conglomeration is expected to produce small city cars and hatchbacks by 2015 or thereabouts.
