I have marked a few paragraphs with ~~~ to highlight the frenetic pace
of development. The business model is affordable modern cars for
third world markets including China herself. The American car market
may be the biggest in the world. But it is a mature market with
cutthroat competition even the big three Detroit Iron has trouble
surviving in. Chinese car manufacturers would be silly to want to
enter this market as an independent. But with Detroit three seeking
China made cars to fill out their low end models it is possible that
this will be a very profitable partnership. When they hit US roads the
US importer will have to be responsible for quality and consumer
issues since there cars will be rebadged and sold under the aegis of a
Detroit three company.

A website with pictures is at
http://www.worldstyling.com/web/prod...il.php?id=2512
http://archive.cardesignnews.com/aut...ghts/index.php
The cars will look good on any road. Since the car market in China
itself is open to imports a crappy domestic design car that cannot
match Japanese or German models for example won't sell. The Chinese
made cars are of good quality. While you may bicker on the small
details the fact remains that they sell like hot cakes and they are
not breaking down on the roads.


Chery's millionth car 'just the beginning'
August 24, 2007
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_B.../IH24Cb03.html

WUHU, China - China's Chery Automobile Co produced its millionth car
on Wednesday, becoming the first wholly Chinese auto maker to reach
that milestone.

~~~The company, established in 1997, started production in 1999 and
made its first million cars in seven years and nine months, said a
statement from the company. It took Chery about six years to make its
first 500,000 vehicles, and only 17 months to complete the second
half-million.

The millionth car is an A3 four-door hatchback, which made its debut
at last year's Beijing auto show and is expected to go on the market
this year.

The compact model, equipped with Chery's own-brand engine, was
designed to meet environmental and safety standards in the US and
European markets, despite some industry analysts claiming that Chinese
producers lack the technology to meet the standards on their own.

In contrast with Chery, Sino-German auto maker FAW Volkswagen took 13
years to make its first million cars, while it took more than eight
years for Shanghai GM and Guangzhou Honda to build their first million
cars.

Chery, the ambitious flag-bearer of Chinese indigenous brands, is
capable of producing 400,000 cars, 400,000 engines and 300,000
transmission cases a year. Chery, now the biggest Chinese
passenger-car brand by unit sales, plans to raise its annual output to
a million cars by 2010.

A new plant, which will begin production in October, will increase
capacity by 250,000-300,000 cars a year. China has 30 sedan
manufacturers, nine of which produce more than 200,000 vehicles a
year.

Chery, based in Wuhu, Anhui province, sold 232,785 cars in the first
seven months of the year, maintaining its position as the country's
seventh-largest auto manufacturer and the fourth-largest sedan
producer.

With sales on the home market dominated by foreign auto makers such as
General Motors, Volkswagen and Toyota, Chery is eager to expand on the
global markets. Since 2001, it has exported 153,694 cars to 56
countries, making it the biggest Chinese sedan exporter for four
consecutive years. It plans to raise annual exports by 800% from last
year to 400,000 by 2010.

~~~Chery plans to have 14 overseas factories by 2010 to assemble its
own-brand cars. It now has seven plants in six foreign countries -
Iran, Russia, Ukraine, Indonesia, Egypt and Uruguay. The top Chinese
car exporter is planning new plants in other countries such as India
and Argentina, it said.

Producing autos abroad will enable Chery to avoid foreign nations'
tariffs on cars shipped from China and will allow it to source spare
parts in these countries. It said the move will help it cut costs
overseas to "reap more profits and improve price competitiveness".

~~~This month, Chery established ties with Italy's Fiat to supply
100,000 engines a year for Fiat cars made in China and abroad. Chery
has also signed a deal with Chrysler to export Chinese-made cars to
the United States and Europe. The two companies will jointly develop
new products based on Chery's small-car platforms.

Cooperating with foreign auto makers was no barrier to developing
Chery's own-brand products, said president Yin Tongyao. "It will help
Chery build indigenous cars with international competitiveness."

In his congratulatory letter to the auto maker, Chinese Vice Premier
Zeng Peiyan said Chery had distinguished itself as China's
self-developed auto brand at home and abroad.

"Taking the millionth car as a new starting point, Chery should
further innovation on technologies and management and upgrade its
products and service," Zeng said.

(Asia Pulse/Xinhua Informati