WUHU, China -
China's Chery Automobile Co produced its millionth
car on Wednesday, becoming the first wholly
Chinese auto maker to reach that milestone.
The company, established in 1997, started
production in 1999 and made its first million cars
in seven years and nine months, said a statement
from the company. It took Chery about six years to
make its first 500,000 vehicles, and only 17
months to complete the second half-million.
The millionth car is an A3 four-door
hatchback, which made its
debut at last year's Beijing
auto show and is expected to go on the market this
year.
The compact model, equipped with
Chery's own-brand engine, was designed to meet
environmental and safety standards in the US and
European markets, despite some industry analysts
claiming that Chinese producers lack the
technology to meet the standards on their own.
In contrast with Chery, Sino-German auto
maker FAW Volkswagen took 13 years to make its
first million cars, while it took more than eight
years for Shanghai GM and Guangzhou Honda to build
their first million cars.
Chery, the
ambitious flag-bearer of Chinese indigenous
brands, is capable of producing 400,000 cars,
400,000 engines and 300,000 transmission cases a
year. Chery, now the biggest Chinese passenger-car
brand by unit sales, plans to raise its annual
output to a million cars by 2010.
A new
plant, which will begin production in October,
will increase capacity by 250,000-300,000 cars a
year. China has 30 sedan manufacturers, nine of
which produce more than 200,000 vehicles a year.
Chery, based in Wuhu, Anhui province, sold
232,785 cars in the first seven months of the
year, maintaining its position as the country's
seventh-largest auto manufacturer and the
fourth-largest sedan producer.
With sales
on the home market dominated by foreign auto
makers such as General Motors, Volkswagen and
Toyota, Chery is eager to expand on the global
markets. Since 2001, it has exported 153,694 cars
to 56 countries, making it the biggest Chinese
sedan exporter for four consecutive years. It
plans to raise annual exports by 800% from last
year to 400,000 by 2010.
Chery plans to
have 14 overseas factories by 2010 to assemble its
own-brand cars. It now has seven plants in six
foreign countries - Iran, Russia, Ukraine,
Indonesia, Egypt and Uruguay. The top Chinese car
exporter is planning new plants in other countries
such as India and Argentina, it said.
Producing autos abroad will enable Chery
to avoid foreign nations' tariffs on cars shipped
from China and will allow it to source spare parts
in these countries. It said the move will help it
cut costs overseas to "reap more profits and
improve price competitiveness".
This
month, Chery established ties with Italy's Fiat to
supply 100,000 engines a year for Fiat cars made
in China and abroad. Chery has also signed a deal
with Chrysler to export Chinese-made cars to the
United States and Europe. The two companies will
jointly develop new products based on Chery's
small-car platforms.
Cooperating with
foreign auto makers was no barrier to developing
Chery's own-brand products, said president Yin
Tongyao. "It will help Chery build indigenous cars
with international competitiveness."
In
his congratulatory letter to the auto maker,
Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said Chery had
distinguished itself as China's self-developed
auto brand at home and abroad.
"Taking the
millionth car as a new starting point, Chery
should further innovation on technologies and
management and upgrade its products and service,"
Zeng said.
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