Chery to build plant in Venezuela, report says
Chery Automobile Co. will build a $200 million (1.3 billion yuan) plant in Venezuela that will produce 20,000 cars a year, China Daily newspaper reported, citing a company executive.
According to the state-owned newspaper, Venezuela raised its import tariffs on autos to 40 percent from 35 percent since December 2007 in an effort to discourage imports. An estimated 15 automakers have set up plants in Venezuela with a combined annual production capacity of 250,000 units.
"Venezuela is not an open market, which leaves huge potential for us to tap if we have an assembly factory there," said Du Weiqiang, vice president of Chery International.
Chery has 16 assembly plants overseas, including one in Brazil and one in Uruguay. The Brazilian factory will produce up to 150,000 units annually. In 2010, Chery sold 23,000 vehicles in South America, according to China Daily.
This year, the state-owned automaker aims to sell 120,000 vehicles in all its overseas markets.
