The
Chinese "Landwind ", the first car entering
European market three months ago, proved itself as a safe
car after passing a recent crash test in Germany.
"The
result of this crash test is very encouraging," Peter
Bijvelds, the Dutch importer of this Chinese sport utility
vehicle, told a press conference on Thursday in the Hague,
the Netherlands.
"The
crash test measurements for both driver and passenger
confirm that this vehicle is fully compliant with current
EU regulations," said Bijvelds.
The
positive results of the crash test, organized by German
inspection agency TUV in Frankfurt, was in total contradictory
with another crash test by another German car club ADAC
in middle September.
The
ADAC said its crash test indicated that the driver would
not survive a head-on collision at speeds of 64 kilometers
per hour or more.
The
front of the SUV would crumple and crush the driver, the
unofficial organization said.
Bijvelds,
however, question the validity of the crash test and even
doubted that the ADAC were manipulated by the powerful
German automotive industry which perhaps found a way to
keep the Chinese competitor from entering the market.
Bijvelds
said that it was "a great coincidence" that
the results of the ADAC crash tests were published on
the eve of the Frankfurt car show, where the economically
priced Chinese SUV was to be officially unveiled.
He
also called it strange that the manufacturer was not informed
of the test results, as is usually the case to help manufacturers
learn and improve their vehicles.
"We
as the official importer had not been informed before
and we were not invited to be present when the tests were
performed. Upon our request for further information, there
was only silence," he said.
In
response to the ADAC's warning, Landwind's maker, China's
Jiangling Group, asked the German agency TUV to test the
vehicle for compliance to European safety standards.
"We
have been hit hard (by ADAC test), and we think that not
all has been fair," Jiangling and its importer Bijvelds
said in a statement.
"We
will meet any safety or emission standard that is required
to sell our cars in the European Union markets. The customer
will prove us right," it added.
(Xinhua News Agency October 7, 2005)
|