Chery, Fiat to form joint auto venture

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-08 13:04

A Chinese man opens the back door to a Chery vehicle on a car lot of a Chery auto dealer in Beijing, China in this July 4, 2007 file photo. Italian automaker Fiat SpA has signed a deal to buy engines from Chery Automobile Co., China's Xinhua News Agency reported Monday, Aug. 6, 2007. Chery will supply Fiat with 100,000 engines a year under the deal. The agreement by Chery, which is eager to expand abroad, comes just one month after the company sealed a deal to manufacture small cars for Chrysler Group. [AP]

HEFEI -- China's fast-growing Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. and Italy's Fiat Auto have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to set up a joint auto manufacturing company, Chery said on Wednesday.

The joint venture to be built in Wuhu, east China's Anhui Province, will produce Fiat and Alfa Romeo models as well as Chery group vehicles.

The MOU was signed on Tuesday, one day after the two sides announced an agreement for Chery to supply Fiat with 100,000 engines a year.

The joint venture is expected to produce 175,000 vehicles annually starting from 2009, according to a statement on Chery's website www.chery.cn.