BEIJING - Chery
Automobile Co Ltd, one of China's largest
independent car makers, is recalling nearly 19,000
of its "Oriental Son" models because of a problem
with the model's vanity mirror, according to a
company spokesman. Spokesman Qin Lihong said the
recall covers vehicles made between July 14, 2003
and May 6, 2005.
The recall will be the
first carried out by a domestic automaker since
China's recall regulations took effect last year.
Qin told China Daily: "[This] is the first car
recall in the past nine years for China's domestic
car makers. It was a hard decision to make, but we
decided to be brave. The recall shows our
commitment to provide high-quality and safe cars."
He said a supplier, which he declined to
identify, failed to provide acceptable vanity
mirrors, placed on the inside of the car's sun
visors. The problem lay with
the mirror's light, which does not always turn off
properly, thus running down the car's battery and
leading to difficulties starting the engine. The
Oriental Son, one of the most popular models among
middle-class buyers in China, is mainly sold
domestically, although a small number are exported
to the Middle East.
Chery, founded in 1997
in the city of Wuhu, has become the
fastest-growing independent automaker in China,
well-known for its low prices.
No injuries
or accidents caused by the imperfection have been
reported so far. The company is also considering
the possibility of recalling models exported to
the Middle East, said Qin.
Consumers and
experts in the business have applauded Chery. Sun
Jian, an analyst from market consulting firm AT
Kearney, said the recall would help Chery build up
its brand and polish its reputation as a
responsible automaker. "It is a signal that
China's domestic car makers are adapting
themselves to the rules of the market," Sun said.
The recall follows the recent settlement
of a three-year intellectual property rights
dispute between US-based automaker General Motors (GM) and
Chery. Qin said Chery has resolved the dispute
amicably, with GM abandoning its efforts to stop
Chery building a copy of one of its small cars in
China. GM withdrew all lawsuits relating to the
dispute on November 25 and signed an agreement
with Chery. But Qin did not reveal the terms of
the agreement. GM has argued that the QQ car was a
copy of the Chevrolet Spark, also known as the
Daewoo Matiz, designed by its GM Daewoo subsidiary
in Korea.
Malcolm Bricklin, Chery's
American partner, said Chery would continue to
legally sell and export its QQ model. Bricklin
said the agreement clears the way for him to
import the QQ into the US starting in 2007,
according to the Associated Press. The
small-engined QQ has been the eighth best-selling
model in China this year. Bricklin has said that
he would eventually like to sell as many as 1
million Chinese-made vehicles annually in the
United States.
Anhui-based Chery is
teaming up with top engineering firms such as
UK-based Lotus Engineering, Japan-based Mitsubishi
Automotive Engineering and auto design firms
Bertone and Pininfarina, both based in Italy, to
produce economic cars at competitive prices. The
company has become the biggest car exporter in
China, selling 18,000 cars abroad this year; the
company says Cherys are already sold in 29
countries. Zhang Lin, general manager of Chery
International, said the firm is building a global
sales network. "Next year, we are planning to
build our first sales and service network in the
Middle East," he said.
Motors (GM) and
Chery. Qin said Chery has resolved the dispute
amicably, with GM abandoning its efforts to stop
Chery building a copy of one of its small cars in
China. GM withdrew all lawsuits relating to the
dispute on November 25 and signed an agreement
with Chery. But Qin did not reveal the terms of
the agreement. GM has argued that the QQ car was a
copy of the Chevrolet Spark, also known as the
Daewoo Matiz, designed by its GM Daewoo subsidiary
in Korea. 
