Chery A6 coupe heads into production

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]