Some news regarding collaboration between DaimlerChrysler and Chery. Previously it was reported that Chrysler will name it’s subcompact car partner by the end of 2006, with talks currently on-going with a few partners. Subcompacts which are known for frugal fuel consumption - important in these high fuel price days - account for 1% of the overall US market currently, but it is expected to double in amount next year.
DaimlerChrysler is said to be in final talks to build cars in China and export them to the US under the Dodge brand to take advantage of the cheaper costs there. This move will follow Honda Motor Co’s recent recision to export vehicles built in China. However, DaimlerChrysler is keeping mum on the issue, and it is said that this collaboration is very controversial within DaimlerChrysler, with opponents questioning whether cars produced in China by Chery can meet quality standards.
Other partners being considered are Mitsubishi Motors Corp, and Hyundai Motor Co Ltd. “We know we can’t do it alone. The capital expense alone would be very high, said Chrysler Group CEO Tom LaSorda.
NOTICE: This news was posted back in 2006, but things could have changed now.
More news on the Proton-Chery partnership - Business Times reported today that Proton Holdings Bhd may produce an MPV and an SUV model together with Chery Automobiles Co Ltd, according to Chery distributor Alado’s executive chairman Tan Sri Cam Soh.
Previously Alado said it wanted to locally assemble the Chery Tiggo T11 SUV and the Chery V5 Crossover MPV here in Malaysia. So what Alado’s executives might have meant is Proton will assemble the Tiggo and V5 here in Malaysia for Chery, or Proton will come out with SUV and MPV models based on the Chery platforms. I think it’s more likely the former rather than the latter.
Alado Bumi Sdn Bhd launched the new fully imported CBU Chery QQ AMT today, powered by an automated manual gearbox similiar to the unit in the Proton Savvy AMT.
The 52hp 75.5Nm 0.8 liter Chery QQ AMT is priced at RM42,888, while the 0.8 liter Chery QQ with a 5 speed manual transmission sells for RM39,888. Only 100 units of the Chery QQ manual remains, out of the 200 stock that was brought in.
In other Chery news, Chery expects to start local assembly of Chery cars in Malaysia in Proton’s plant by next year if talks go well. As for Cam Soh’s other company, IGC which intends to assemble Geely cars in Malaysia, the government has only given approval to assemble 1.6 liter Geely cars here, but not models lower than 1.6 liter. Are we looking at a non-tariff barrier working in action to protect Proton?
Click here for a price comparison of the Chery QQ with other models in it’s class.
Proton has made a few announcements today, let me go through them one by one. They’re mostly to do with memorandum of understanding and intent signed with other companies.
Proton reports that the Memorandum of Intent between Proton and Petronas has ended, and both parties are now assessing alternative engine sourcing opportunities. I am not sure if I am right, but from what I can understand by “assessing alternatives”, it looks like Proton will not be using the Petronas E01-based technology for it’s larger displacement engines.
UK magazine AutoExpress carried photos of the Chery QQ crash test results yesterday. Clearly European consumers are a little worried about the influx of Chinese cars into their market soon in the future, for example the new Nanjing-assembled MG Rover cars, the JiangLing Landwind, and the Geely Beauty Leopard. Bad crash test result photos (as well as some good ones?) of the Chery QQ have been around the internet for a long time, so it is not exactly breaking news for us. There are also accusations that the Chery QQ is a rip-off of the Chevy Spark, and there was a lawsuit but it was settled out of court and since dropped.
What raised my curiosity is this little excerpt from the article…
A Chevrolet spokesman told us: “The QQ results are horrific. China clearly isn’t ready to sell cars in Europe.” After complaining about copyright infringement, Chevy’s parent firm GM made an out-of-court settlement with Chery which agreed not to sell the QQ outside China.
Chery has released information on their latest compact car, the Chery QQ6 known internally as the S21. The Chery QQ6 is a small notchback said to be inspired by the design of the Volkswagen New Beetle. The notchback form is popular in China, as evident by Citroen developing the Citroen C-Triomphe, a special notchback version of Citroen C4 the specially for the Chinese market. The 4-door supermini is based on a new platform, not carried over from the previous Chery QQ and the notchback form is the first in a series that will also include a hatchback and a stationwagon.
This platform is said to be developed by Chery entirely on it’s own. It offers two engine options, a 1.1 liter and a 1.3 liter. It will be priced between US$5,250 and US$6,500 in the Chinese market. With the introduction of the QQ6, it’s sibling the Chery QQ will be renamed the Chery QQ3 as Chery intends to continue selling the Chery QQ3. More photos after the jump.
Alado has launched the CBU Chery QQ here in Malaysia, with an on the road price of RM39,888 for the QQ model and RM41,888 for the QQR model. The Chery QQR model is basically a QQ with a sporty bodykit. The Chery QQ comes with an 812cc 12 valve 3 cylinder EFI DOHC engine, making 52hp at 6,000rpm and a max torque of 75.5 Nm between 3,500 and 4,000rpm. It comes with a 5-speed manual transmission only. Good news is the car comes with a power steering system.
Alado intends to sell only 200 units of both the Chery QQ and Chery QQR by the end of 2006. As I previously reported, Chery also intends to assemble an MPV and an SUV here in Malaysia, the Chery B14 V5 Crossover and the Chery T11 Tiggo. While previous reports suggested they might be assembled at Oriental Assembler Sdn Bhds plant in Johor Baru, Alado group executive chairman Tan Sri Cam Soh Thiam Hong said at the QQ launch that Alado is currently in talks with a few other assemblers and Proton tops it’s list of preferred assemblers. This would be in line with Proton’s alliance talks with Chery, which would result in Proton assembling it’s vehicles at Chery’s plant in China and Chery assembling it’s vehicles in Proton’s plant here.
Price comparison between similiar models available after the jump:
July 10, 2006 @ 9:59 am
· Filed under Cars, Chery, China
QXTX, which looks like some kind of Chery QQ fan club website has posted a different set of Chery QQ crash test result photos on their site last year. In these new crash test photos, the damage does not look bad at all, but even through Babelfish Chinese to English translation, I could not really determine to which crash testing standards was used as guidelines for the crash test. Perhaps a reader who can read Chinese could help with the translation? Anyone?
You can see that the last photo was shot intentionally to show that all four doors of the Chery QQ could be opened after the crash. Proper crash test or not, I’ll let you be the judge! For older photos showing much worse results, click here. More crash test photos after the jump.
Alado Corp Sdn Bhd will be launching 3 new Chery models over the next few months beginning with the Chery QQ, due to be launched this month. The Chery QQ, a little town run-about with an 800cc engine has been the subject of controversy, with claims of it being a blatant copy of Daewoo’s Matiz. The Daewoo Matiz is sold here by Hicomobil as the Chevrolet Spark.
The rip-off is so bad that a General Motors (which owns Daewoo and Chevrolet) spokesperson said, “If you didnt have the name tags on the car, you couldnt tell them apart. Its such a knockoff that you can pull a door off of the Chevy Spark and it fits on the QQ - and it fits so well that the seals on the door hold.“
Hicomobil ran an ad campaign when the Spark was first introduced trying to inform Malaysian consumers of the carbon copy situation between the Spark and the QQ. It went along the lines of “This is the real Chevrolet Spark” or something like that, I can’t really recall exactly how it went. The campaign ran alongside a promotion with KFC where you could win a Chevrolet Spark in a competition.
The Chery B14 MPV be a nice competitor to the Naza Ria and Toyota Innova if it is priced below RM100,000. It’s also known as the Chery V5 Crossover. The MPV is a 7-seater powered by 2.0 petrol, 2.4 petrol or 1.9 turbodiesel engine options. I’m guessing the petrol engine options are the same as the Chery Tiggo’s and we’ll get the 2.0 liter unit. It was first unveiled as a concept vehicle at the 2004 Beijing Motor Show.
NOTICE: This news was posted back in 2006, but things could have changed now.
Alado Bumi Sdn Bhd launched the new fully imported CBU Chery QQ AMT today, powered by an automated manual gearbox similiar to the unit in the Proton Savvy AMT. 
