China’s Chery started selling cars in Brazil last year. They were shipped from a Chery factory in Uruguay. The Brazilians like the cars so much, especially the TIGGO SUV, that Chery decided to drop $700m on the Brazilian market, and to have an assembly plant up and running in Sao Paulo by 2013.
According to The Nikkei [sub], the annual output of the plant is estimated at 170,000 vehicles. Not a bad start for a country that consumes 4m cars in a good year and more than 3m in a bad year. Everybody is betting that this number will increase sharply, and for not completely transparent reasons, car sales are expected to explode before the 2016 Olympics, which will be hosted by Rio de Janeiro.
Other Chinese carmakers, such as Changan and BYD, “are also bolstering their Brazilian operations,” says the Nikkei without going into specifics.
In five years, sales of Chinese cars in Brazil are projected to total 200,000 units, or 5 percent of Brazil’s market. That Chery factory could make most of them by 2013. Someone must be bluffing or low-balling.
for $28,300 US I’m sure there are better vehicles…
Bertel,
For now this is only vaporware. Hyundai “was building a factory” before they actually got around to it for at least 15 yrs. Toyota, too, until it actually became a reality this year (and as I reported earlier).
In other words, I’ll believe when I see it.