Chery Enters Turkey and Argentina
06 August 2008
Chery Automobile Co. has begun selling passenger cars in Turkey and Argentina as part of a push to boost exports by 50 percent this year.
Chery is aiming to export 180,000 vehicles this year, up from 119,800 in 2007, according to Chery spokesman Wang Chao.
"We have enough confidence to achieve this," he says. "This year we have already exported more than 80,000 cars."
Chery began sales in Turkey on June 27 with distributor Mermerler Automotive. Chery's Tiggo SUV and A5 sedan, exported from China, are the only models on the market. But Wang expects more models to be added in the coming months.
Wang declined to give sales forecasts for Turkey. Last year, Chery and Mermerler said they expected to sell between 5,000 and 10,000 Chinese-made Chery vehicles in Turkey during the first year of sales.
Chery views Turkey as an important step toward entering the European market and establishing the credibility to make it to North America. Chery Vice President Zhou Biren told Automotive News China in April that Turkey "is a springboard to Europe."
Chery began Argentina sales on July 1 with the Tiggo. That vehicle is built from knock-down kits at a Chery joint venture plant in Uruguay. Wang also declined to give a sales forecast for Argentina.
Exports accounted for 40.7 percent of Chery's total sales in the first half of 2008.
Chrysler LLC is expected to start shipping Chery's A1 car to Mexico by the end of this year. The hatchback will be sold under a Chrysler brand. But cars for the U.S. market made by Chery are still under discussion.
Source : english.chinabuses.com
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