Chery Auto to release luxury Riich brand in March

Shanghai, February 19 (Gasgoo.com) Next month, Chery Auto will release its luxury car brand Riich (Ruiqi), which will have six models put on sale in the high-end auto market, xinhuanet.com said today.

Chery Auto, a Chinese-brand car maker previously famous for its cheap small-car QQ series, has now drawn up its blueprints for developing its own luxury car brands to expand into the high-end market. This year, the company will launch its Riich sedan brand and Weilin commercial car brand. The Riich is seen as Chery's key brand to the luxury car segment.

In 2009, the Chery Riich sedan brand will have six models for launch, and four Chery Weilin brand models will also go to the market. The company has set this year's sales goal of 50,000-60,000 high-end cars. Chery Auto is determined to build up its independent high-end car brands and to boost its luxury brand image.

According to Chery's blueprints, the Chery Riich brand will rival Audi and will also follow Audi's model series to include sedan, hatchback, crossover and SUV models. The Riich car models to be launched this year may be priced between 100,000 yuan ($14,700) and 200,000 yuan. These luxury cars are expected to have Chinese officials as the target consumers.

Chery Auto will launch 15 new models from three platforms in 2009 and will set up four sales companies. The Riich and Weilin brands will share an independent sales network for the sales growth of Chery's emerging high-end car brands.