Motor Vehicles and Parts News
- Chery taps bulletproof car market in Uruguay
Date: 15-Mar-2007 Sources: (Xinhua Online)
Chery Automobile Co Ltd announced on Wednesday it has teamed up with a Uruguayan company to make and export bulletproof sedans, a niche market no Chinese car maker has yet to tap.
The nation's fourth-largest car maker in terms of sales last year has signed a contract with Bognor SA through one of its subsidiaries to set up a joint venture in its home city of Wuhu in east China's Anhui Province, according to the company's e-mailed statement.
Chery will own 70 percent of the new venture which will specialize in making bulletproof cars. Bognor will hold the remaining stake. Both parties did not disclose financial details of the deal.
The Chinese company said its mainstream model, the Oriental Son, will be the first car to be bulletproofed, and its target markets will be overseas. Next year, the auto maker plans to make its Tiggo sport utility vehicle and a commercial vehicle, dubbed V5, bulletproof, said sources from the firm.
'The bulletproof car market is an emerging one,' said Fan Shiwei, who is in charge of the project. He said no Chinese car makers have driven into this market yet.
The prototype bulletproof Oriental Son model passed tests in Uruguay last year and was used to ferry Wu Bangguo, chairman of China's National People's Congress, during his visit to the country in September, the statement added.
Auto analysts said Chery hopes to extend cooperation with more global auto giants and will increase its research and development capability as well as building a global recognition.
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