Chinese auto maker Chery relaunches new cars assembled in Egypt

CAIRO - China's leading auto maker, Chery International, announced Tuesday the relaunching of its Speranza cars under the new name of "Chery."

The "Chery" will be assembled in Egypt in partnership with two leading Egyptian automobile corporations, Ghabbour Auto (GB) and Aboul Fotouh Automative (AFA).

Chery has sold over 30,000 Speranza models in Egypt since 2004 and has become the most popular Chinese car in Egypt in cooperation with Aboul Fotouh Automative.

With the new trilateral partnership, Chery decided to relaunch its assembled cars in Egypt under the company's name.

"This relaunch is an important step for Chery International's strategy, as Egypt is a leading country in Africa and Chery started its export business in the Middle East and Africa. That is why we see Africa as a market with huge potential," He Xiaoqing, President of Chery International, told Xinhua in an interview following the ceremony.

He added that AFA has abundant local resources in order to assemble car parts and integrate Chery's products, while GB's solid marketing experience guarantees successful sales and customer service for Chery's products.

Chery expects AFA to assemble 35,000 units annually and the Chinese auto manufacturer is focusing on brand design, product enhancement and upgrading service in its comprehensive growth strategy in Egypt.

GB Chairman, Raouf Ghabbour, said he is proud to partner with Chery International due to its past success in the Egyptian market and said the agreement will also assist AFA to work at full capacity during the current economic recession.

"It was a good chance to first of all increase the GB brand visibility of Ghabbour and at the same time support Aboul Fotouh Automative to operate at full production capacity. So, it is a win-win situation which is why we did not hesitate to partner with them," Ghabbour told Xinhua during the ceremony.

GB added that Chery is "a significant name with a successful track record in Egypt," stressing that Egyptian customers value the quality of Chery vehicles, which is the reason why this partnership will benefit all those concerned.

"We will definitely mobilize our experience to support Chery as we did with Geely, Hyundai and Mazda, through networks of sales branches and licensed distributors, maintenance and service centers and spare part sales outlets," he said, noting that no Chery cars will be assembled in Egypt outside of AFA.

GB is funding the relaunch which is worth hundreds of millions of Egyptian pounds for the Chery and AFA deal, and expects to sell 1,500 Chery vehicles a month, targeting an annual sales goal of 40,000 cars each year.