Fact-file

* Chery Automobile is an automobile manufacturer in China. It is owned by the local government of Wuhu and produced about 188,000 vehicles in 2005.

* Chery was founded in 1997 to prop up the economy in remote Wuhu. The company was not able to obtain a license to produce vehicles for sale in all of China, but was saved by an order for taxis by the local government.
* In 2001, Shanghai Automotive Industry Company (SAIC) invested in the company, allowing it to use SAIC’s national retail sales license. In 2003, Chery founded a research and development organisation, quickly designing its own 3 and 4-cylinder engines.
* Despite its humble beginning, Chery has achieved many unlikely breakthroughs and become the fastest growing independent automaker in China.
* It is committed to developing world-class automobiles via co-operation with top engineering firms such as Lotus Engineering of the UK, Mitsubishi of Japan, and leading auto designing firms such as Bertone and Pininfarina of Italy.
* In its relentless pursuit of quality, Chery adopts DURR Paint Systems in its paint shop in 2004. In 2005, as a ground-breaking event for the Chinese automotive industry, Chery started producing China’s first high-performance Euro IV engines in co-operation with AVL List of Austria.
* In addition, in J D Power 2004 China Initial Quality Study, Chery QQ finished No 1 in the compact car segment.
* With an ambition to become a global player, Chery has so far launched its products in 30 countries.
* For the time being, Chery is developing a new line-up of products aiming at auto markets in the US and EU. In 2005, a strategic partnership was formed between Chery and Vesionary Vehicles of the US for launching Chery products in North America this year.