Chery Lands Joint Venture with Chrysler
It has been known for some time that Chrysler Group and Chery Automobile Company of Wuhu, China were negotiating for Chery to build a B-Segment car for Chrysler. It appears that the companies have now reached an agreement and all that is left is the approval by the various Chinese governmental bodies and the DaimlerChrysler Board.
Chery is the Real Deal - Chrysler Acquires Low Cost Manufacturing
Having visited the Chery facilities in Wuhu with Malcolm Bricklin's Visionary Vehicles team in Spring 2005, I can confirm that Chery has the capability to build B-Segment cars for Chrysler. At the time, Chery factories, design facilities and engineering offices were rising in an industrial sector of Wuhu. All was world class. The most modern equipment offset by higher than normal direct labor possible through China's advantage of low wage rates.
Bricklin's relationship with Chery has ended and, anyway, was independent of anything Chery was negotiating with Chrysler.
Likely Product - Dodge Hornet B-Car?
Chery and Chrysler have not confirmed that the product to be produced is the Dodge Hornet concept shown during the 2005 auto show season. It is reasonable that the Hornet would be the entry and would be sold in North America, Europe and other markets.
Chery Can Produce to Chrysler's Blueprints
Chery is a very young car company and has been growing at a very rapid pace. One of the stated reasons Bricklin and Chery split was that Chery's present products that would have to be modified to be imported into the USA did not meet the five-star safety standards Bricklin demanded without major, major changes that would have delayed the products. Assuming Chery will be manufacturing a Chrysler design, these challenges can be handled by the Chrysler design team and implemented by Chery's manufacturing. Given the right set of blueprints, Chery should be able to produce a very competitive B-Car for Chrysler.
