CHERY RAISES THE BAR

Chery, the leading independent motor manufacturer in China, has underlined its No. 1 position as a vehicle exporter by exceeding its target for 2011 in less than nine months. A total of 122 441 units were shipped from China in the first nine months of the year, which was an increase of 80.4% over the performance a year previously and exceeded the company’s annual target of 120 000 units.

The booming sales will ensure Chery of an all-time sales record for 2011 and in so doing it will continue its reign as China’s top-selling independent vehicle maker for an 11^th consecutive year.. The current record of 682 000 units was set last year, when the company also sold its 3 000 000^th vehicle. The year before, in 2009, total sales had exceeded the 500 000 mark for the first time.

Chery says its big growth in exports is attributable to the restructuring of its overseas markets and by offering a wider range of models to these markets. Originally the focus was on exporting only the low priced QQ range, but now other models such as the Tiggo, J3 and J2 are also being exported in volume.

In fact, the Tiggo has already displaced the QQ as the most popular Chery model in overseas markets this year. It is now sold in more than 60 countries and regions. The Tiggo has already become the leading SUV in the Egyptian market, breaking the long-term domination by GM and Hyundai models, while it was honoured as the best SUV in Brazil in 2009 and awarded the SUV “Oscar” for 2011 in Serbia.

Tiggo successfully passed more than 50 regulatory certification tests before its launch into Europe, being exported first to Italy. Since 2009 it has been the only vehicle to have been given the qualification “exemption from export inspection” by the Chinese authorities.

Chery sales growth has been particularly strong in markets such as Russia (up 300% year-on-year), the Ukraine, Iran, Egypt, Chile and Brazil. It is, in fact, the leading Chinese brand in terms of sales in the two South American countries.

The growing demand for Chery vehicles has resulted in the construction of overseas assembly plants, with 15 so far built or under construction.  Overseas production now accounts for more than 50% of Chery’s export volume and this proportion is growing, with ground-breaking for a plant in Brazil recently as well as the start of production in Venezuela.

All these factors are underscoring Chery’s position as the leading Chinese vehicle brand in overseas markets.

STORY COURTESY OF WILKEN COMMUNICATION