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UPDATED: December 23, 2006 NO.51 DEC.21, 2006
Chery on Top
Striving to be the Toyota of China, Chery not only came face to face with its hero at the recent Beijing Auto Show 2006. It found itself positioned as a Toyota rival.
By TAN WEI
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Striving to be the Toyota of China, Chery not only came face to face with its hero at the recent Beijing Auto Show 2006. It found itself positioned as a Toyota rival.

At that time, the No.6 Exhibition Hall, covering 3,000 square meters, was divided into two parts with a narrow aisle: On one side were domestic automakers, and on the other, international giants.

Stepping out from the Chery booth, Qin Lihong, Deputy General Manager of Chery's Sales Co., smiled with confidence.

"We don't care if it is coincidental or intended that we are in the same exhibition hall with Toyota," Qin said. "It is a rare opportunity for us, for we are always aiming at being the Toyota in China. This time, we've got an opportunity to be close to our goal."

While Toyota is the fastest-developing automaker in the world, Chery is the fastest-growing auto company in China.

Qin said frankly that realizing his company would be at the same exhibition hall with Toyota, Chery felt pressure initially, but then more excitement.

"Today's Chery is actually similar to yesterday's Toyota," Qin said. "We have been studying Toyota in our plan of production lines, manufacturing technologies, development of overseas markets and even utilization and design of auto shows. We do believe we can learn from Toyota in many aspects and it is an opportunity for us to learn at the same hall."

Judging by the layout of Chery's exhibition booth, things indeed looked promising for the company. The 1,300-square-meter booth covered nearly half of the entire exhibition hall space. There were 10 new models of cars, five models of engines and other items, comprising the strongest camp in the show.

Although Toyota dispatched all its major cars and concept cars, Chery still had more displayed. According to Yin Tongyao, Chery's Board Chairman, from this lineup, people could see tomorrow's Chery.

Pointing to the Futwin Coupe II, Yin said,"Some foreign journalists told me that if this car was changed with the logo of Toyota and put onto its booth, they would not identify the exact producer. This praise might be exaggerated, but at least it shows our design and manufacturing levels are closer to those of foreign automakers."

If it makes the right moves, Chery in years ahead could become an archrival to a number of international automakers. But there's still a long way to go.

IPR is the key

On November 20, a piece of news excited the Chinese auto industry. Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda declared that his company was negotiating with Chery to establish a joint venture, and details would be fixed by the end of this year.

According to LaSorda, a major reason why Chrysler chose Chery as a partner is that the company has qualified production lines. The deal permits Chery to manufacture Dodge B-class and compact cars for Chrysler. Dodge cars manufactured by Chery will be mainly exported to Western Europe, Mexico and Canada.

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