Posted by Will (in IL) on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 at 9:37AM :
Bricklin abandons plans to establish Chery in the U.S.
By GREG KABLE
AutoWeek | Published 11/21/06, 12:14 pm et
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Malcolm Bricklin’s ambitious plan to revolutionize the U.S. car industry with an affordable lineup of models from China’s Chery Automobile has been derailed.
For the past two years, Bricklin has claimed his company, Visionary Vehicles, had a deal to import up to 250,000 Chery-produced cars to North America, with the potential for even greater volumes should the demand warrant it over the longer term.
However, these plans now appear to have been compromised by Chery’s apparent moves to establish a close working relationship with a number of established Western carmakers, including Fiat and DaimlerChrysler. The former has already announced plans to buy Chery’s new range of four-cylinder engines, while the latter is in ongoing negotiations with a Wuhu-based carmaker with the aim of producing the Dodge Hornet in China.
Bricklin isn’t divulging why his deal with Chery has unraveled, but sources suggest DaimlerChrysler might be considering importing selected Chery models branded as Dodges to the U.S., and might have convinced Chery to break off talks with Bricklin.
Bricklin, who rose to prominence introducing Americans to both Subaru and Yugo, says Visionary Vehicles now plans to conceive its very own lineup of models and commission a suitable Chinese carmaker to produce them in a low-cost factory in China for export to the U.S. and other markets, including possibly Europe.
The 67-year-old entrepreneur won’t comment on which Chinese carmakers he is speaking to, but Chery Automobiles is said to be among them owing to his strong ties with the company’s president, Yin Tongyao. Also in the running, according to a source close to Bricklin, are the FAW (First Automobile Works) Group, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation and Geely Automobile Global.
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