Chery Auto possible to buy Europe car brand

Shanghai, February 13 (Gasgoo.com) President and CEO of Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. said yesterday that his company would not rule out the possibility of buying a troubled European auto brand, Beijing Times reported. Volvo is believed to be one of the choices.

Yin Tongyao told the newspaper that Chery Auto is in preliminary talks with several European automakers about a possible acquisition but he declined to comment on whether they include Volvo.

Chery Automobile has contacted several European auto brands, including Ford Motor's Volvo car brand, and is interested in an acquisition, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said today.

Changan Automobile Group and Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd were the other two Chinese automakers rumored as potential buyers of Volvo, but Geely denied such a plan last Thursday.

Chery, the nation's fourth-largest auto maker, received a 10 billion yuan ($1.47 billion) loan to fund its global growth from Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) last December. "We were also granted the flexibility of a credit line by the bank," Yin added.

Chery plans to build a $500-million new assembly plant in north Argentina's Chaco province. The facility will produce 100,000 Chery cars annually, mainly for export to Brazil. Chery already has eight overseas plants in Southeast Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

The automaker reported monthly sales of 3,5000 units last month, up 36.14% year on year and 31.5% month on month, respectively.