Chery cars to be sold in Romania by Israel importer

Shanghai, November 19 (Gasgoo.com) Israeli company Shlomo Sixt has obtained the go-ahead to import and market China's Chery cars in Romania, the Globes in Israel reported last week.

The permit was granted six months after Shlomo Sixt obtained the franchise, and after Chery completed procedures in compliance with EU4 emissions standards for vehicles in Romania.

The EU4 standards will remain valid in Romania for the next two years, during which time Chery is expected to present a line-up of cars that comply with the stricter EU5 emissions standards, the Globes said.

With a partnership deal signed on late July, Shlomo Sixt New Kopel has become the first Chery importer in Europe, to sell the cars in a EU member country. It will sell the Chery A5 sedan and Tiggo compact SUV.

New Kopel is controlled by the Israeli group Schlomo, which entered the Romanian market in 2005 by taking over Union Motors, and in May 2006 acquired the license for Romania of Sixt, a German car-rental company.

Chery missed the deadline to obtain a grace period to market EU4-compliant cars in Israel, where marketing of Chery cars will therefore be delayed until mid-2010, when it will launch EU5-compliant cars.