GM to Bring Automatic Transmissions in BaoJun 630

When General Motors officially introduced the BaoJun brand in China, the company said it would only sell affordable models, which made people think that vehicles sold under the new badge would come with cheap materials and low-budget features. However, it seems like the Americans are not at all willing to make the BaoJun 630, the first unit to be sold in China with a BaoJun badge, look like a cheap product.

A set of spyshots published by China Car Times shows that the car could after all get a manual transmission or a CVT, as well as some other more premium features such as parking sensors and all kinds of controls mounted on the steering wheel. The automatic setup might be only offered on top-of-the-range trim levels, but power will still be provided by the same 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine available on the whole series.

In terms of exterior design, the car will borrow some lines from the Buick Excelle, but would obviously remain pretty far from what we've seen on the more expensive model also belonging to General Motors.

“We carefully studied the market and customers,” said Kevin Wale, President and Managing Director of the GM China Group. “Quality, design, fuel economy and durability were made a focus to appeal to local car buyers, particularly first-time buyers in the nation’s second- and third-tier markets.”

When it will go on sale this year, the BaoJun 630 will retail for around $7000, although there were some people from within the company that claimed the car could come with a price tag of around $9,500.