Nine-year-old Chinese carmaker Chery has created a miracle in China's automobile manufacture history by producing a total of 500,000 cars.

 

Chery, which is based in eastern China's Anhui Province, is one of the few successful auto companies in China producing cars with Chinese brands.

 

Unlike many joint ventures in the Chinese auto industry that depend on foreign technology and sell home-made cars with overseas brands, Chery relies on its own research and development to turn out products with proprietary intellectual property right (IPR).

 

Chery has been ranked among the ten biggest automakers in China for years.

 

According to a ranking list compiled by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the top three motor vehicle companies in China are First Automotive works (FAW), Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation and Dongfeng Motor Corporation, all producing foreign-brand cars, including Germany's Audi, US Buick and French Citroen.

 

On April 15, 2004, Chery's 200,000^th car went off the assembly line, and only in less than two years, it produced another 300,000 cars.

 

Chery once sold 28,000 units of its well-received compact model QQ in six months, creating a new record in mini-car sales in China.

 

Chery's achievement shows that China's passenger car manufacture is turning mature, marking the acceleration of national auto industry development, said He Guangyuan, former minister of machinery industry.

 

It was difficult to start such an auto company without policy support and resources advantage. Actually, independent innovation has brought Chery opportunities and success, said Yin Tongyao, president of the Chery Company.

 

Chery invested 400 million yuan (US$50 million) to set up an auto engineering academy, which became one of the most advanced auto research center in China.

 

Cooperating with renowned Austrian engine designing company, Chery has developed new auto engines with proprietary IPR.

 

In March 2006, it exported 5,000 engines to the United States, making a breakthrough in China's home-brand engine export.

 

In 2005, Chery exported a record of 18,000 cars, the most among China's car manufacturers. Currently, Chery cars are sold in 38 countries outside China.

 

Last year, China's vehicle output grew 12.56 percent to 5.71 million units over 2004, and sales of domestically-made vehicles grew 13.54 percent to 5.76 million units, according to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 30, 2006)