China’s ‘Chery’ automobile breaks into RP market

Chery Automobile Co. Ltd., one of China’s top car assemblers, has entered the Philippine market with the launch of five new car models that boast of European design and technology at highly-competitive prices.

At the launch Friday night of the new Chery line ranging from compact sedans to multi-purpose vehicles, Iseway Motors Phils. Inc. president Raymond Tumao said the company is “deeply committed to providing an economical way of transportation and customer satisfaction for Filipinos.”

“This is why we chose to bring Chery automobiles in the Philippines,” he added.

Iseway is the sole authorized service provider of Serrano Enterprises Ltd., the exclusive distributor of the Chery auto line in the Philippines and wholly-owned by Hong Kong-listed Simsen International Corp. Ltd.

Established in 1997, Chery Automobile became one of the fastest-growing car companies in the Asia Pacific region as its array of low cost, high quality cars boosted sales, making it one of the top 10 domestic auto manufacturers in China.

Chery automobiles are currently sold in more than 30 countries worldwide, including the US and Europe, with a global network of more than 30 distributors and 100 sales and service centers. In 2005, Chery more than doubled its sales volume to 189,000 units and exported 18,000 cars overseas, leading the field in the shipment of locally-made cars.

In the Philippines, Iseway has set up its headquarters and showroom at the Oppen Bldg. along Sen. G. Puyat Ave. in Makati City. The models now locally available are the QQ3 compact sedan, awarded as the best quality compact car in China in 2004; the A5, an executive class sedan; the Tiggo SUV; the environment-friendly Cowin sedan; and the Crossover, a seven-seater multi-purpose vehicle.

The compact 0.8-liter QQ3 will sell for only P339,000 for the manual transmission type (P389,000 for automatic); the 1.6-L Cowin, which can run on LPG, goes for P479,000; the 1.6-L A5 for P589,000; the 1.6-L Tiggo for P728,000; and the 2.0-L Crossover (V5) for P858,000.

Chery has collaborated with the world’s top design and engineering firms that include Bertone and Pininfarina, the Italian vehicle designers of Ferrari and Lamborghini, giving the cars the distinct European elegance and sophistication.

For the engines, AVL of Austria has been working on Chery’s new line of cars, including one with turbodiesel, direct fuel injection and aluminum alloy cylinder blocks/heads; Germany’s Bosch is helping Chery design modern transmissions; racing car chassis design export Lotus Engineering is aiding in car design and quality; while Ricardo Consulting Engineers is developing a hybrid powertrain for Chery to become China’s first hybrid vehicle. 

Tumao said their dedicated service teams will provide the after-sales maintenance to guarantee the sustainability and functionality of Chery vehicles. “Providing service beyond satisfaction is our means in achieving our goal of attaining a 20 percent market share within two years.”