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China’s Chery to set up assembly plant in Vietnam

May 23, 2012 at 2:30 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Chery, China

Chery has signed an agreement with a Vietnamese company to assemble and sell vehicles in the ASEAN country, the Chinese car company revealed, although no further details were furnished.

The Vietnam plant will become Chery’s 17th CKD plant outside of China, but they won’t be the first Chinese carmaker setting up shop in the fast growing country – Great Wall Motor and Chongqing Lifan Industry (Group) Co already have CKD plants in Vietnam.

Global giants Toyota, Ford and GM, as well as Suzuki, already assemble vehicles in Vietnam, which has a population of 90 million people and a per capita GDP of $1,200, according to Chery.

Chery has been rather active, and fast growing. The Anhui-based state owned company saw strong export performance in 2011, and their next target is Europe. Back home, it recently struck a US$2.8 billion deal to build both Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles in China, for the Chinese market.

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Chery lines up two concepts for Beijing – the next Tiggo?

April 18, 2012 at 9:51 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Chery, China, International News

Auto China 2012 happens in Beijing later this month, and Chery is lining up some concepts for the show. The slinky crossover you see here is called the TX, and it’s said to hint at a new model as well as a fresh design direction for the company’s next batch of vehicles. Looks good, the next Tiggo perhaps?

The small little thing is called Ant Concept, and it’s the typical urban mobility machine designed for congested cities. The Tokyo show is always full of these things, and they never come to life, so we can safely ignore the Ant.

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Jaguar Land Rover and Chery seal US$2.8 bil joint venture deal to build and sell vehicles in China

March 22, 2012 at 12:40 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Chery, International News, Jaguar, Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover is looking to make serious inroads in China, with the intent signaled by the finalisation of a joint venture agreement with Chery Automobile to manufacture and sell vehicles in the country.

The deal, worth 17.5 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion), is a boost for JLR’s efforts in expanding its market and reach in the No 1 auto market in the world, but it will still need regulatory approval, reports indicate. The two companies will now follow the official process to form a JV company in the country.

The joint venture concern, which will have its operations base located in eastern China, is set to build both Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles as well as planned JV-branded vehicles and engines, and will also sell the vehicles. The coperation will also see the setting up of an R&D facility.

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Chery hits export targets early, Brazil is biggest market

October 18, 2011 at 1:15 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Chery, China, International News


Other than Proton, who else uses ‘FL’ to mark a facelift? This is the Chery Tiggo FL!

There are so many car brands in China that only a visit to a Chinese motor show will open one’s eyes. But apart from a handful, most of these brands are unknown outside the country, or province. One of the better known ones is Chery, which is also China’s largest passenger vehicle exporter.

Chery seems to have the vision its peers don’t. The Anhui based state owned company exported 122,441 vehicles in the first nine months of 2011, up 80% year-on-year. This surge of exports has allowed the company to achieve its original 2011 target of 122,000 units three months ahead of schedule. For the whole year, Chery expects to ship 180,000 vehicles overseas.

Who’s buying their cars? Exports to emerging markets have been especially strong. Fellow BRIC country Brazil is Chery’s largest export market, followed by Russia and Ukraine. Chery plans to export to Europe after 2015.

They won’t go it alone. According to a German report from last month, Chery Quantum Auto, a 1.5 billion euro joint venture between Chery and Israel Corp, will build three compact models to be sold in China and exported to Europe, reaching the continent next year. The cars, developed by Magna Steyr, will be built at a new factory near Shanghai with an initial capacity of 150,000 units per year, rising eventually to 500k units.

The cars, designed to meet Western standards and expected to cost around RM46,700 to RM63,500, will be sold under a new brand called Qoros. Read our post on that here.

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Chery and Magna Steyr join forces to penetrate Europe

September 27, 2011 at 11:16 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Chery, China


If you can’t do it on your own, why not get some help? Chinese carmaker Chery is planning to enter Europe with the help of Magna Steyr, which is based in Austria and builds cars such as the MINI Countryman, Peugeot RCZ and Aston Martin Rapide. They were also contract manufacturers for the first gen BMW X3 and the folding roof of the Mercedes SLK.

According to FT Deutschland, Chery Quantum Auto, a 1.5 billion euro joint venture between Chery and Israel Corp will build three compact models to be sold in China and exported to Europe, reaching the continent next year. The cars, developed by Magna Steyr, will be built at a new factory in Changshu (near Shanghai) with an initial capacity of 150,000 units per year, rising eventually to 500,000 units.

Instead of using Chery’s badge, the cars will be sold under a new brand called Qoros. The cars are designed to meet Western standards and are expected to cost around RM46.700 to RM63,500, the report adds.

On its website, Tel Aviv listed Israel Corp says Chery Quantum was created to manufacture and market a new brand of premium Western-standard vehicles. “The vehicles will meet high safety and environmental standards by combining Chery’s manufacturing capabilities with Western design, engineering and safety standards.”

The JV is also looking at alternative powertrains. Israel Corp, the country’s biggest industrial conglomerate, already owns a 30% stake in Better Place, an electric mobility firm that specialises in battery exchange centres.

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Fiat CEO Marchionne warns against underestimating China

August 5, 2011 at 10:52 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Chery, China, Fiat

In many automotive circles, whether at the mamak or in boardrooms, China is still the butt of jokes. However, underestimating Chinese carmakers may not be that wise, if one remembers that Japanese and Korean cars were once in the same position. Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is warning against that.

“If anyone deludes themselves that they can ignore China, they will pay a huge price. China’s auto industry has grown tremendously, and they have some of the most updated current technology. They should not be underestimated. We cannot afford to be unprepared for the ascent of China, reassuring ourselves of our invincibility,” Marchionne told an auto industry seminar in Michigan.

“The excuse that we did not understand or that we underestimated the scale will serve no purpose. Rather we need to continue to work to make our industrial base more competitive, because the day of reckoning is inevitably coming.”

The Italian pointed out that at present, Chinese carmakers produce almost entirely for domestic consumption, but “even assuming China were to export only 10% of what it produces, the risk we face in our home markets is enormous.”

He has reason to worry. Fiat is fighting for market leadership in fast growing Brazil, the world’s fourth largest car market and a target for the Chinese. Chery has started construction of its first factory outside of Sao Paulo and expects to churn out 50,000 vehicles a year there by end 2013. Meanwhile, Jianghuai Automobile (JAC Motors) is to invest between $600 and $900-million for its maiden Brazilian assembly plant that will start operating in 2014.

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Ex-GM employee caught passing hybrid secrets to Chery

July 24, 2010 at 6:41 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Chery, China, General Motors, International News

Have you ever wondered how staff from one company can simply move to another, without revealing any trade secrets, especially when they work in a technical or engineering capacity? Isn’t that why they were hired in the first place?

Some transitions don’t happen so well, as a former General Motors engineer and her husband were recently charged with conspiring to steal trade secrets in relation to GM’s hybrid vehicles. Very much like something out of a movie, Shan Shan Du has been accused of copying thousands of GM documents to an external hard drive five days after the automaker offered her a severance agreement in January 2005.

Du and her husband Qin, are said to have been planning to pass information on GM’s hybrid tech to Chinese carmaker Chery, through a small firm they own called Millennium Technology International. Evidence supposedly extracted from a series of e-mails to the Chinese automaker also proposed a joint venture between Millennium and Chery.

The case is still in being played out in court and the likely outcome can be anything from 10 to 20 years in prison with a fine of $250,000. That should deter auto execs from diving into the espionage business.

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Chery Alado exports Eastar MPV to Thailand and Indonesia

June 3, 2010 at 1:12 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Chery, China, Local News

Chery Alado Automobile Sdn Bhd will start exporting the locally assembled Chery Eastar 2.0L MPV to Thailand and Indonesia, starting with 50 units to each country. By the end of 2010, Chery expects this figure to touch 500 units. Next export targets are Singapore and Brunei in 2011. The Eastar is put together at Oriental Assemblers in Johor alongside the Tiggo SUV.

The Eastar 2.0L made its debut here last month. Its 2.0-litre ACTECO engine was jointly developed by Chery and AVL of Austria, producing 134 bhp and 180 Nm. Paired to a four-speed automatic, this twin-cam unit will retire the dated 2.4-litre Mitsubishi 4G64 engine, which was an Eastar selling point that Chery Alado harped on previously. In Malaysia, the 2.0L ACTECO engine alone gets a 5-year or 200,000 km warranty (the rest of the car gets a 3-year/100,000 km warranty). It’s priced at RM79,998.

Chery has done quite well in Malaysia lately, spurred by the well received Eastar. Last year, Chery sold more than 1,800 vehicles, a 170% increase over 2008 figures. This year, they are targetting sales of over 5,000 units. The company plans to introduce three new models this year, including a compact car, to achieve that target. Looking at Chery’s range, this could possibly include the more modern looking A1 and A3 or the oddball QQ6.

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Chery Eastar now with 134hp 2.0 ACTECO engine

May 1, 2010 at 6:37 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Chery, China, Local News

Chery Eastar

The Chery Eastar has undoubtedly been one of the more successful Chinese car models here in Malaysia. It might be something to do with the fact that it’s priced way below the RM100k mark, has decent interior space inside and featured a familiar though dated 2.4 litre Mitsubishi 4G64 engine. It’s one of the bigger MPVs out there with a 2,800mm wheelbase which is just 3cm shorter than a Grandis.

The 4G64 is now being phased out in favor of Chery’s ACTECO engine which has been powering its other models. Displacement is down to 2.0 litres from 2.4 litres which means cheaper road tax, power is up from 127 horses to 134 horses at 5,750rpm, and torque is about 18Nm lower – now the car has 180Nm to use at 4,400rpm. The Mitsu engine provided 198Nm at a lower 3,000rpm point. The transmission continues to be a 4 speed auto.

Of course, with the familiar Mitsu engine gone some potential customers may start to rethink the purchase of an Eastar so this new ACTECO engine gets a 5 year or 200,000km warranty. The rest of the car gets a 3 year or 100,000km warranty. The RM79,998 Chery Eastar 2.0L’s equipment list includes automatic climate control, MP3/USB audio with steering mounted audio controls, power windows all round, twin SRS airbags, ABS brakes with EBD. If you add another RM2,000 you get leather seats.

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Chery to participate in 2010 Dakar Rally

December 16, 2009 at 5:03 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Chery, China, Motorsports

chery rely x5 dakar

Chery has announced that it will compete in the 2010 Dakar Rally, and with that be the first Chinese automaker to participate in what’s famously known as “The World’s Toughest Race”. Next year’s Dakar will again be held in South America over the challenging terrain of Argentina and Chile. Chery acknowledges the difficulty that lies ahead – it calls the race “devil rally”!

Chery will campaign its Rely fleet of SUVs – two X5 race cars, one X5 conductor car and one H5 support car. Ningjun Lu, who has raced in Dakar five times, will lead the driver lineup. Jiang Yaoheng is the other driver with Dali Ma as the team manager. “It’s definitely stressful to attend the 2010 Dakar Rally, but X5, as a real Chinese brand, has different meaning, we have to get good scores,” said a motivated Lu.

Rely is a sub-brand created by Chery for its home market focussing on “high-end all-round commercial vehicles”. Besides Rely, Chery also has Riich (premium passenger cars) and Karry (compacts) brands under its portfolio, but just for use domestically.

The 2010 Dakar Rally will start on New Year’s Day at Buenos Aires and end on January 16 in the same city. This year, the route will measure 9000 km, with a long stint in the Atacama Desert.

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