Chery set to participate in 2010 Dakar Rally

Shanghai, December 17 (Gasgoo.com) Chery Auto is set to participate in next year's Dakar Rally as the first home-grown Chinese auto brand ever involved in this auto sports event, media reported yesterday.

The 2010 edition of "The World's Toughest Race" will start on New Year's Day in Buenos Aires and end on January 16 in the same city. This year, the route will measure 9,000km. Four of the 14 legs of the race will run through the Atacama Desert. There will also be two crossings of the Andes at altitudes of about 4,700m.

Chery will field its Rely fleet of SUVs: two X5 race cars, one X5 conductor car and one H5 support car. Leading the driver lineup will be Ningjun Lu, who has raced in Dakar five times before. Jiang Yaoheng is the other driver with Dali Ma as the team manager.

"It's definitely stressful to attend the 2010 Dakar Rally, but X5, as a real Chinese brand, has different meaning, we have to get good scores," said a motivated Lu.

Rely is a sub-brand created by Chery for its home market's high-end commercial vehicle segment. Besides Rely, Chery Auto's portfolio also has Riich as its premium passenger car brand and Karry as a compact car brand.

Chery Group CEO Yin Tongyue sees the company views the Dakar as the ideal opportunity to showcase its brand on a worldwide stage. "The upcoming Dakar Rally will allow Chery to test the waters," he said.