Chery to launch 17 new models this year

Chery Automobile Co, China's top homegrown carmaker, aims at blistering growth in sales of 40 to 80 percent this year by providing a record number of new products.

The company based in the eastern city of Wuhu said in a statement to China Daily that it will "ensure sales of 700,000 vehicles and shoot for 900,000 units" at home and abroad in 2010, up from 500,000 units last year.

As one of the most aggressive measures to reach the ambitious goal, it plans to launch 17 all-new and upgraded products under its four marques: the Chery, Riich, Rely and Karry.

The number of new models, up from 12 last year, will set a record as the most intensive year for new products since Chery was formed in 1997.

In January, Chery's sales rocketed by 157 percent year-on-year to a record monthly high of 73,433 vehicles.

The company said planned products to be unveiled this year include six new-energy models, such as an ISG (integrated starter and generator) petrol-electric hybrid, a plug-in hybrid and a purely electric-powered vehicle.

Jin Yibo, the company's spokesman, said Chery will build more domestic capacity to produce the additional models and meet future demand.

It began construction on a 200,000-unit facility in the northeastern city of Dalian last September. The company is also planning an additional domestic manufacturing base distant from its home in Wuhu, Jin said, without revealing details.

The Dalian plant will be operational in the middle of 2011 to makes cars for both the domestic and overseas markets. The carmaker now has several plants in Wuhu with a total production capacity of 650,000 vehicles a year.

China's vehicle market is widely predicted to grow by 15 to 20 percent this year from 13.6 million units in 2009.

Overseas expansion

Jin said Chery plans to build four additional overseas plants this year in preparation for a recovery in the international auto market, which was hit hard by the world's financial woes last year.

The carmaker expects to double its sales abroad to 100,000 vehicles this year, he said.

It now has a total of 11 production facilities in countries and regions including Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, Iran, Indonesia, Uruguay, Vietnam and China's Taiwan province.