Autoblog

Back in 2004 serial automotive entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin announced plans to collaborate with "rogue" Chinese automaker Chery Motors to bring new cars to the US market. Chery is referred to as "rogue" because the company never actually got permission from the Chinese government to get into the car business. Needless to say, the deal eventually fell apart when Chery decided to hook up first with Israel Corp and Quantum LLC for a different joint venture which has also yet to come to fruition.

Bricklin's company, Visionary Vehicles, which is now know as V Cars LLC, has now filed a lawsuit against Chery, Israel Corp, and Quantum LLC, et al. The suit is being filed under RICO statutes, typically used to go after mobsters, and V Cars is hoping to pursue Chery for the potential profits the company feels it could have made over the course of the deal. How much? $14 billion.

V Cars claims they provided Chery with business plans and ideas (along with $26 million in up front investments) which they then used for their own business after abandoning the deal. During a conference call today, Bricklin explained that he wants to show Chery and other Chinese companies that if they are going to do business with western companies they need to deal ethically and follow the rules. V Cars is also seeking injunctions to prevent Chery from selling any vehicles based on these plans in North America. The complete text of the suit that has been filed in Federal District Court in Detroit can be read here (Warning: PDF download).

[Source: V Cars]

Following up on our report last month about Volvo possibly going to the Chinese, state media is now reporting that Chery Automobile, one of the largest independent and fastest growing Chinese auto manufacturers, has its eyes on the Swedish automaker. Although officials at Chery rule out the possibility of buying Volvo, other sources have stated that the Chinese automaker has already negotiated funding for a possible acquisition. If so, that funding will be significant-insiders put Volvo's value at 30 billion yuan (about $4.4 billion dollars). This isn't the first time that Ford has been rumored to be cashing-out on Volvo... however, it was just two months ago that Ford officials reiterated that Volvo was not for sale. We wouldn't bet our yuan on it.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

After years of talk, Chery is finally entering the North American market later this year, but the small car will be badged as a Dodge, and it'll be sold exclusively in Mexico. The decidedly un-Hornet-looking A1, which was designed by Bertone of Italy, will be rebadged as a Dodge and virtually unchanged from its Chery twin. While Chrysler execs are adamant that the A1 isn't coming to the US, the Pentastar is still working with Chery on a small car to be sold north of the border. Don't hold your breath waiting for an ultra-cheap Chery in the US, though. Chrysler co-pilot Tom LaSorda says Chery has "three or more years" before the Chinese automaker can meet US safety and emissions standards.

[Source: Automotive News (subs req'd)]

If you've been waiting on pins and needles for a small Chrysler that's due to be built in China by Chery, you're going to have to twiddle your thumbs a little longer. Though we've been hearing about a Chrysler/Chery Hornet or Demon for some time, execs from both companies don't believe the products are ready for North America, yet. Quality and safety are still a concern with the vehicles, but Chrysler's China boss Phil Murtaugh feels the challenges are far from insurmountable. Chery Chairman, Yin Tongyao, is also convinced that more work needs to be done to get the product up to US standards, saying the US and Europe are "very mature markets."

Chery is dying to get its affordable vehicles into the US market, but both Chrysler and Chery seem to understand that any sub-standard Chinese vehicles are destined to take their place next to Yugo in the history books. Chances are that the two companies will only have one shot to get things right, and if the final product is garbage, Chery will be finished in the US, and Chrysler's already dim rep will start to flicker. If the inexpensive vehicles are a big hit, however, the Pentastar will be pulling in Yuan hand over fist.

[Source: AP]

Pininfarina is making its voice heard designs seen in China, with 30-percent of the company's business now being done with the Asian nation. At this month's Beijing Motor Show, two Chinese automakers will reveal three models designed and, in some cases, engineered by the Italian firm. What's more, all of the cars are meant to be sold in the European market, as well.

Anhui Jianghuai will have two Pininfarina designed cars, a sedan code named A108 (pictured) and a five-door hatch code named A107. They are meant to hit European markets in late 2009. Brilliance, which is BMW's Chinese partner, will be showing off the BS4 station wagon. It will head to Europe with the re-engineered BS6 sedan.

Though they won't be unveiling new cars, Pininfarina's other Chinese clients include Chery, Changfeng, and Hafei, who together have at least seven cars penned by Ferrari's favorite design house.

[Source: Auto News]

The Dodge Breeze is A #1. Or, rather, it's an A1. Chinese automaker Chery's deal with Chrysler LLC to produce small cars for Chrysler's three brands begat the little buzz-about you see above. The photo appeared on a Chinese forum and is supposedly the Chinese Plymouth Dodge Breeze, one of the aforementioned adventures in rebadging. The cars produced as a result of the agreement would not be limited to China, as the low-end rides would be sold in other developing markets, and high-end cars will be destined for others. The Breeze would be a Chinese-built car that gives Dodge a presence in the minicar segment. It also has the honor of dragging (if obliquely) The Brand Formerly Known As Plymouth back into our lives, though we really wish they would have gone with Volare.

[Source: Carscoop]

click above for more high-res images of the Dodge Demon Concept

The Dodge Demon has been hinted and anti-hinted for production, and it seems that the sports car will indeed make it into showrooms. Unfortunately, according to AutoWeek, the Demon will wind up on a front wheel drive chassis from Chery. The 1993 Mercury Capri Demon's switch to FF has been partially driven by emissions regulations, says Chrysler's Tom LaSorda, but we think it's more likely due to build cost. There is a direct-injection engine in development, which should also help the Demon meet upcoming emissions standards while offering strong performance. The Chery platform will doubtlessly be re-jiggered for the Demon, but we predict that the MX-5 is in no danger of losing its primacy in the segment. Perhaps in acknowledgment of dynamic shortcomings, one of the major selling factors for the Demon will be a price lower than the Mazda or GM's Solstice/Sky twins, the car's main competitors. Here's hoping that no matter what's underneath the Demon, it still looks as hot as the concept when it hits stores.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Europeans anxiously awaiting their chance to buy a Chery will have to cool their heels a little longer. Chery's delaying the export of their B21, but it's not for anything major like crash performance woes. According to suppliers, Chery has pushed back production so they can revamp the interior design. The fitment that appeals to the Chinese domestic market is less thrilling to European buyers, so the cabin will get some attention before the B21 swings into production later this year. It won't be long until these cars start finding European buyers. Chery and its peers are getting their collective acts together and while these cars are currently punchlines, they won't be for long.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req., Photo: Autoblog Chinese]

View in hi-res courtesy of Autoblog Chinese

If you're still under the impression that Chinese automakers are only building knock-offs of existing cars and small sedans through joint venture with foreign carmakers, think again. The Chery A6, previewed at the Shanghai show by the A6CC concept, is heading into production.

The car recently completed testing, and is scheduled to go on sale sometime in the latter half of 2008. Based on the Chery A6 sedan, the A6 coupe uses the company's front-drive B2 platform. It will come available with a choice of engines – including a 2.0-liter turbo, a 2.4-liter V6 and a 3.0-liter V6 – mated to either a six-speed manual or four-speed automatic.

With the new A6 coupe, Chery apparently wants to slip unnoticed into foreign markets – the styling is a little bland – but if it plans to sell the A6 range outside of China, the company may meet some resistance from Audi, whose mid-range sedan already uses that alphanumeric designation.

[Source: Winding Road]

Israel develops and produces a lot of things, from microchips to cosmetics. But, discounting the odd dune-buggy or army jeep, cars aren't one of them. So it came as a bi t of a surprise when Quantum, an American subsidiary of (the imaginatively named) holding company Israel Corp., announced it was embarking on a joint venture with an unnamed Asian automaker back in the spring.

Israel Corp. has now won approval from China's still heavily centralized government to set up shop in partnership with Chery Automobile. The Israeli partner will take a 45% stake in the venture, worth about $225 million, with Chery presumably taking the other 55%. The news of the deal hit the wire shortly after the now-refuted

reports of an ambitious plan to put 10,000 electric cars on Israeli roads by 2010.

Chery was the first of a plethora of Chinese automakers that now manufactures outside of China, operating its own plants in Iran, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Argentina. While it's still not known where the new Sino-Israeli cars will be built, they could very well find their way to our shores as Chery gears up for its assault on the American market.

[Source: Detroit News]