Chinese Chery Tiggo Released in Brazil

Chery is one of the Chinese automakers which are aiming to expand their offering overseas and this week launched the Tiggo in Brazil, a South American market which is also tackled by Chevrolet and other top industry players. The Chinese manufacturer expects to sell around 10,000 vehicles in Brazil by 2010 and even considers starting local production in the country in three years.

According to edmunds.com, Chery intends to establish a strong dealership network in Brazil comprising of 55 dealerships that are projected to sell around 2,500 units of the newly launched crossover in the remaining months of 2009.

The Tiggo is the first model belonging to the Chinese manufacturer that is officially sold in Brazil and comes equipped with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. It is offered with a price tag of $25,000.

As we said, Chery is one of the Chinese carmakers that are seeking a global expansion, with ailing companies in Europe becoming their new targets. Chery has often been linked with Volvo, the Swedish brand belonging to Ford which is currently courted by Geely.

"The company might be making some big moves in 2009," a source close to the matter was quoted as saying by Reuters back in February when the first rumors talking about a possible sale of Volvo started surfacing. “Chery has been in touch with several European auto brands including Volvo," the source said.

Chery, currently the seventh largest carmaker in China, was founded in 1997 as a way to boost the economy of Wuhu, a region of China that has seen little industrial development. Its first factory used machines and engine technology purchased from Ford Europe.