Brilliance ex-CEO set for ambitious comeback

Shanghai, June 29 (Gasgoo.com) Yang Rong, former chairman and president of Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd, is set to make an ambitious comeback in the auto industry.

He has recently announced his plans to establish two 3-million-vehicle manufacturing bases, one in China and the other in the United States, The Economic Observer reported today.

Mr. Yang (aka Rong "Benjamin" Yeung), now living in exile in the U.S., said he has started talks with local governments of five Chinese cities about the siting of his auto-making company with an annual output of 3 million units.

In the U.S. he has chosen Alabama and Mississippi states to build two auto production bases, each of them will make 1 million vehicles annually, plus a 1-million-unit OEM base.

As many as 10 vehicle models, under the working brand of "Zhengdao" ("right way"), are being designed with help from Italian designers, and will be made at Chinese and American facilities. All these models will meet the safety and emission standards of the two countries.

Mr. Yang said he aims to make world-class cars and expects his auto group to rank among the top 10 global automakers. Every effort will be made to achieve this goal, he said.

As the CEO of Brilliance China Automotive Holdings and reportedly one of China's wealthiest individuals, Yang Rong was dismissed from the company in early 2005 after rumors of financial irregularities and fled to the U.S. in May.