Chery starts selling QQ microcar in Brazil
Chery Automobile Co. has started selling its QQ microcar in Brazil to expand its product offering in the market there.
The QQ, an 800cc gasoline car, is the fourth model the Chinese automaker has introduced in Brazil, following the Tiggo SUV and the A1 and A3 compact cars.
The QQ, exported from China, sells for 22,900 Brazilian reals (57,250 yuan) in Brazil.
Of the three other Chery models on sale in Brazil, the Tiggo and A3 are shipped to Brazil after being assembled at Chery's plant in Uruguay.
Like the QQ, the A1 is imported from Chery's plant in China. In 2010, Chery signed an agreement with the local government of Sao Paulo to build a 2.6 billion yuan assembly plant in that region of Brazil.
The plant is expected to launch production in 2013 with an initial output of 50,000 vehicles a year.
In the first four months of this year, Chery's global sales totaled 230,444 vehicles, up 8 percent from a year earlier, according to J.D. Power and Associates.
Brazil, a fast-growing market with an appetite for inexpensive cars, is starting to attract Chinese automakers. In the first quarter of 2011, Jianghuai Automobile Co. shipped 7,000 Tojoy hatchbacks and sedans to Brazil.
Jianghuai plans to export 620,000 vehicles to Brazil over the next 10 years.
