Sao Paulo, Brazil, 15 Feb – Chinese car manufacturer Chery will be the first Chinese company with car assembly facilities in Brazil, and its factory is due to start operating in the first half of 2013, the chairman of Chery Brasil, Luís Chen said in Sao Paulo.

At its new factory in the city of Jacareí, in the interior of Sao Paulo state, an investment currently estimated at US$400 million, Chery Brasil will initially assemble two models, which will be sold at a price of between 30,000 and 60,000 reals (between US$18,000 and US$36,000).

According to the managing director of the Brazil-China chamber of Economic Development, Tang Wei, cited by the Brazilian press, Chery could be the first of several car manufacturers to set themselves up in Brazil.

“Three Chinese companies have already sought me out showing interest in Brazil,” said Tang Wei, adding that if Chery Brasil is successful and if it is able to achieve consolidation on the Brazilian market it could serve as a model for other Chinese companies to move into the Brazilian market.

Chery Brasil plans to reach a market share in Brazil of 3 percent in the two years after the factory opens, and the chairman of the company said that the group’s decision to invest in building a factory in Brazil had been due to the Brazilian vehicle market being the fourth-largest in the world. (macauhub)