September 08, 2008

Chery sees Chrysler JV a long term option

It is reported that China's fourth largest car maker Chery Automobile joint venture with Chrysler in a production alliance for the global market remains an option, but it ruled out any major moves in the near term.

The Shanghai Securities News said that the two had been in talks to set up a full fledged joint venture in Chery's home base in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui and could reach an agreement in the near term.

Chery spokesman said "A joint venture with Chrysler was and still is an option, but I am not expecting any big moves of any sort in the near term."

A Chrysler spokesman said the two companies were moving forward with their plan to export vehicles from China to international markets, but declined to comment on the newspaper report on a manufacturing venture. He said the companies were eager to begin exporting small cars from China as soon as possible but would not do so until they were 100 percent convinced that the models would meet global standards.

Chery, which already exports cars to more than 50 countries, mostly in the developing world is among a small club of ambitious Chinese players hoping to emulate the global success of companies such as Toyota Motor