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Since
1984, Citroën has built cars for the Chinese market.The Xantia and XM
V6 Exclusive are sold in China under the local name Fengshen. They are
assembled by a small workshop in Huizhou, Guangdong province, near
Hongkong.
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In
China, the import of parts is much cheaper than that of entire cars due
to customs duties and taxes which represented up to 80% of a car’s list
price. However, import tariffs for parts were set at 25%.
A number
of foreign car companies set up joint ventures in southern
Guangdong Province where corruption was rife. The joint venture
would then set up a factory, import parts (in most cases these were
near-complete vehicles minus wheels, wipers, mirrors, lights, badges,
etc. which were sourced in China) from abroad and 'manufacture' cars in
China.
In 1999, the government in Beijing clamped down on this loophole and
factories were closed and the corrupt officials were removed from their
posts.
Along
with many other manufacturers, Citroen produced’the XM and Xantia in a
joint venture called Fengshen-Citroen in the small city of
Huizhou in Guangdong Province. Fengshen was a joint venture with
Dongfeng which legally made cheap Citroens for the Chinese market.
Strangely
enough, both XMs and Xantias used the name XM. The middle of the boot
shows the Dongfeng logo, the mother factory of the Fukang
ZX. On the right it says Fengshen-Xietuolong. Xietuolong is
Chinese for Citroën. Fengshen-Citroen obtained a permit to build the XM
but failed to get one for the Xantia. So Fengshen-Citroen called both
cars XM, and the problem was solved.
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