2024 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:13
Brilliance wants to make the crash test disaster around the BS6 quickly forgotten. The revised sedan will hit the market in August, as Brilliance CEO Hartwig Hitz said.
A crash test with the Brilliance BS6 ended in a disaster last year. But the Chinese carmaker worked on its model and modified a total of 60 parts on the body. With success. After all, three out of five possible stars were achieved on a European test crash facility. "The new Brilliance BS6 will be available in Germany from August," said the managing director of Brilliance Germany, Hartwig Hirtz, in an interview with Autogazette.
Further models will follow
However, it should not stop with this one model, as Hirtz added. “Sales of the BS4 will begin at the same time. This is our most important new release this year. A shapely mid-range sedan with an engine program ranging from 100 hp to 170 hp,”said Hirtz. "The Brilliance BS2 will follow in 2009 - a compact hatchback model in the golf class."
Modifications to the Brilliance BS6
Autotogazette: Mr. Hirtz, what kind of company car do you actually drive?
Hartwig Hirtz: Of course a Brilliance. Currently the BS6 sedan. 4.90 meters long, handsome, 122 hp.
Autotogazette: That should have been a big change. Because before you came to Brilliance Germany, you were the head of a Mercedes branch and of course the driver of a corresponding vehicle?
Hirtz: The biggest change was that people kept asking me about my company car, be it when refueling, with private friends or at meetings with business partners. You can hardly believe that this beautiful vehicle is a car from China.
Ambition and Speed
Autotogazette: Nice and safe would be even better. Last summer, a crash test for the Brilliance BS6 ended in disaster. It only got one of five stars.
Hirtz: That is correct, but in the past. Our partners in China have modified over 60 parts of the body with the well-known ambition and speed that we know from China. Just a few weeks later, such a BS6 was subjected to a further test in an independent European crash test facility. The result would have been three stars in an official test.
Autotogazette: When will the new model be available?
Hirtz: The new Brilliance BS6 will be available in Germany from August.
Autotogazette: will you stick with one model?
Hirtz: Of course not. Sales of the BS4 will begin at the same time. This is our most important new release this year. A stylish mid-range sedan with an engine program ranging from 100 hp to 170 hp. The Brilliance BS2 will follow in 2009 - a compact hatchback model in the golf class.
BS4 costs 16,900 euros
Autotogazette: What prices can be expected?
Hirtz: The Brilliance BS4 will be available from our dealers from 16,900 euros, including very good basic equipment. With this price positioning we are well in the running. We have not yet set any prices for the Brilliance BS2.
Autotogazette: Inexpensive and good cars can also be found at Kia, Hyundai or Dacia. Where do you see the niche in the market for the Brilliance?
Hirtz: We want to offer our vehicles to people who are no longer willing to spend more on vehicles than necessary. In return, you get good quality, appropriate safety standards, European design “made in Italy” and full equipment. All of this at a very good price-performance ratio.
80 dealers under contract
Autotogazette: That still has to be shown. Do you already have an active dealer network?
Hirtz: Brilliance Motor Deutschland currently has 80 dealers under contract. By the end of the year there should be 150 dealers.
Autotogazette: Also in Berlin?
Hirtz: The capital is a very important location for us, if only because Berlin has a large catchment area and is a large city. In Berlin we currently have two dealers in the city area and 3 dealers in the so-called bacon belt. We pride ourselves on the fact that all of our dealerships represent reputable brands such as Mitsubishi or Nissan.
Jochen Knoblach conducted the interview with Hartwig Hirtz
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