Chery launches vehicle assembly in Venezuela
WUHU - Chery Automobile Co., China's largest vehicle exporter, says it started assembling vehicles last week at a factory in Venezuela as part of its efforts to expand operations overseas.
The plant, located in Aragua, will first build Chery's A1 and A3 cars with complete knockdown kits imported from China. The A1 is a small car with a 1.3-liter engine while the A3 is a compact sedan with a 1.6-liter engine. Both are gasoline models.
Chery says it is the first Chinese automaker to be approved by the Venezuelan government to assemble vehicles in the South American country.
Further details about the CKD plant are not available.
Chery started exporting vehicles to Venezuela in 2006. But due to the Venezuelan government's limits on vehicle imports, Chery said it could not meet local demand.
Chery, which is headquartered in the east China city of Wuhu, opened its first South American CKD plant last year in Uruguay. It is building a full-scale assembly plant in Brazil which includes a paint shop, a body shop and an assembly line.
During the first seven months of 2011, Chery sold 354,620 vehicles, of which more than one quarter was exported.
