Chery Racing: Description and History

Chery automobiles are manufactured by Chery Automobile Co. of Wuhu China (Anhui Province in eastern China). It is the intent of Malcolm Bricklin and his company Visionary Vehicles, to import Chery automobiles into the United States. GM is a little unhappy due to the fact that "QQ" line of vehicles is a complete rip-off of the Chevrolet Spark also manufactured and sold in China. Even the doors are interchangable. Chery is the number two auto manufacturer in China behind Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, a joint venture with GM and Volkswagen.

The backers of Visionary Vehicles should ensure its success. Malcom's dream team:

• Malcolm Bricklin, CEO of Visionary Vehicles. He got his start in the auto industry importing Subaru cars to the United States in the 1960s, manufacturing the "Bricklin" sports car in the 70's and importing Yugos in the 80's.
• William J. vanden Heuvel, chairman of Visionary Vehicles. He is a former deputy U.S. representative to the United Nations, president of the Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, and has served on several corporate boards.
• Allen & Co., investment banking firm. The 85-year-old Manhattan firm has been involved in high-profile deals like the 1995 linkup of Walt Disney Co. and Capital Cities/ABC and Google's initial public offering.
• Maurice Strong, chairman of Visionary Vehicles' Technology and Environmental Advisory Board. He is a former senior adviser to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and adviser to the president of the World Bank.
• Per Arneberg, transportation coordinator. The Norwegian shipping magnate will oversee transportation of Chery vehicles from China to North America. He previously headed up transport of Toyotas and Yugos to the U.S. market.
• Ron Harbour, manufacturing consultant. The president of Harbour Consulting in Troy, which produces the annual Harbour Report on manufacturing efficiency, will advise on factory productivity and quality control.
• Pilot Systems LLC, emissions and safety experts. Detroit-based Pilot will oversee U.S. safety, engineering and emissions requirements for Chery vehicles entering the U.S market.

Currently Chery does not have a broad product line but many designs are planned. The first imports are schedules to hit the US market in 2007.

The Official Chinese Chery web site is at http://www.chery.cn/