Chery undergoes major restructuring

Chery believes 2013 will play an important role for its brand as it plans some major restructuring. The year is seen as one that will be vital to the future success of Chery Automobile as the company undertakes a major restructuring of its operating systems, including research, development, manufacturing and marketing.

The automaker, established in 1997, claims this new direction will be reflected in even better products. Last year, it retained its position as the leading Chinese domestic brand with 563,000 sales. This performance placed the company sixth in total domestic sales. The five brands ahead of it were joint ventures between local companies and established global brands.

Shipments of more than 180,000 units to about 70 countries saw the automaker retain its position as leader among Chinese brands in the export market for the 10th consecutive year since 2003. As it were, 2013 has kicked off strongly with 60,900 sales in January, an increase of 54 percent when compared to January last year.

The automaker’s previous strategic transition in its operating systems commenced in three years ago with focus on improving quality, building the Chery brand and improving efficiencies and skills. Now it will focus on restructuring a broader range of operations in another four-year cycle.

Chery’s initial two models, the QQ minicar and Tiggo SUV have, over the years, been joined by two other mainstream models, the E5 and the new J2, which will arrive in some African markets this year. The company is confident that this model will prove a worthy competitor to B-segment models such as the Chevrolet Sonic, Hyundai i20 and Kia Rio.