Chinese to drive wedge in cheaper end of car market

CHINESE car makers are poised to replace their South Korean counterparts in bringing the cheapest bangers into Australia.

Chery, a Chinese Government-owned car maker, has already announced it will begin selling cars in Australia early next year, and now a second has aired plans to compete at the cheap end of the market.

Great Wall Motors is expected to become the second Chinese brand to launch in Australia next year.

The largest privately owned Chinese maker plans to have its cars in Australian showrooms within 12 months. It brought some cars here this year for evaluation.

Chery has said it will sell its cars through Ateco, the same Australian importing and distribution network that handles sports car brands including Maserati and Ferrari.

It is believed Great Wall, too, is in talks with Ateco as its preferred distributor in Australia.

A problem Chinese brands face is concerns over their crashworthiness. A mid-size passenger sedan built by Brilliance and sold in Europe was tested in Germany several years ago and scored only one star out of five. An improved version later got a three-star rating.

Korean-built cars still have problems too. The Holden Barina, a rebadged Korean-built Daewoo, scored two stars when tested several years ago. The more expensive European-sourced version it replaced had a three-star rating.

Hyundai Australia spokeswoman Tiffanny Junee said she would expect the Chinese makers to improve quality over time. "As with any company, you go through a life cycle," she said. "If you spoke about some of the Japanese car manufacturers 10 or 15 years ago as the top cars to buy, people would have sniggered at you."