Chrysler is considering having Chery Automobile build a new Chrysler-designed vehicle, not a car based on a Chery design, due to quality concerns. Back in December, Chrysler and Chery announced plans for Chery to build a new small car in China for worldwide export. Originally, Chrysler was considering a Chery model and not a car based on the Dodge Hornet concept, but it’s now considering building the production version of the Hornet, according to AutoWeek.

The likely reason for the change would be due to quality concerns. Chery is known for low-cost production, including the low price of components, and the cheap components often come at the expense of quality. Under the new plan, Chery would be responsible for purchasing of car parts, but Chrysler will oversee supplier selection.

Chery spokesman Wang Wei would not confirm whether or not the Hornet was being considered, but said, “we will definitely cooperate with DaimlerChrysler, but the specifics of the agreement are still under discussion.”

“We don’t even have a signed contract with Chery yet. Product-specific announcements are still out in the future,” said Chrysler spokesman Dave Elshoff.

When the original announcement was made, we assumed that Chery would build the Hornet for Chrysler. While it didn’t look like it at the time, it now appears to be more likely that the Hornet will see production.

## Source: AutoWeek ##

Posted in: Chrysler, Dodge, Manufacturing, Business, China, Hatchbacks, Chery
RSS 2.0 Feed | Comments | Permalink |  Email This Post