Brazilian-Chinese joint venture unveils first co-built vehicle

ITUPEVA - A Brazilian-Chinese joint venture presented Wednesday the first vehicle jointly manufactured by the two countries.

At a ceremony in Itupeva, in the southeastern state of Sao Paulo, Caoa Chery, the joint venture comprising Brazilian automaker Grupo Caoa and its Chinese counterpart Chery, unveiled the Tiggo 2, a new Sports Utility Vehicle "planned and designed for Brazil," said Henrique Sampaio, the company's marketing manager

"It's common for people here to say that Chinese cars are not designed for Brazil. This car is different," Sampaio said.

The Tiggo 2 was built at Chery's plant in Japeri, Sao Paulo, and will be available in two models - the Look and ACT.

Tailored for Brazilian consumers, the vehicle features five-speed manual transmission, hydraulic power steering, traction and stability control, camera-assisted parking, bluetooth, tire pressure sensors, among others.

Caoa CEO Marcio Alfonso said Chery strove "to give the vehicle the European design that Brazilians like. They went in search of the best professionals and best brands not just in China but also in Europe to give the company a culture of design."

The company hopes to sell some 15,000 vehicles of all its brands by the end of the year, said Alfonso.

Caoa and Chery announced their joint venture in November, with the Brazilian group paying $60 million for 50 percent of the stake.

Executives at both firms said at the time they expected to invest up to $2 billion in the joint venture over five years, hoping to capture 5 percent of Brazil's automotive market.

In addition its collaboration with Chery - one of China's leading automobile assembler sand exporters, Caoa is also the distributor of US brands Ford and Subaru, and meanwhile manufactures models of South Korea's Hyundai.