Chery cars introduction delayed

Chery, China’s largest automaker was set to arrive in the United States by the 2007 model year. With the help of Malcolm Bricklin’s Visionary Vehicles, the company projected that it was to sell 250,000 new cars in 2007 alone.

Chery has just announced that their plans to take over the US will be delayed for a few months amidst concerns that it might have more difficulties convincing Americans to buy their product. Bricklin argues that the when the Japanese arrived, no one thought that they were going to stick around. At the time, the only advantages to the Japanese cars were that they were cheaper to buy and that they consumed less fuel. Chery cars will offer similar luxury and refinement as BMWs and Lexus but cost 30 to 40% less. The US is the World’s largest market with 17 million new cars sales out of 70 million worldwide.

In China, where GM is also flourishing, Chery’s share of the market has grown from 3-4% to 6-7% in only a year. At the moment, only 10% of Chery cars are exported. There are plans in the near future to open plants in Europe, the Middle East and South America.