Subaru May Partner With Chinese Automaker Chery
The automotive market in China right now is an interesting one, with obviously a huge consumer base to pick and choose from. It’s common knowledge that Chinese manufacturers still aren’t up to par with American, Japanese or European counterparts, and some of the major players continue to look at forming partnerships with established brands.
Chinese automaker Chery, has one of the best-selling economy cars in China, the Chery QQ, has been trying to form a joint venture with Subaru for quite some time now. But China’s National Development and Reform Commission opposed the joint venture due to the fact that Subaru is owned by Toyota and Toyota already has two joint ventures in China (the maximum allowed). It’s worth arguing though that Toyota only holds 16.5-percent of Subaru’s parent group, Fuji Heavy Industries, shares.
So in order for the joint venture to go through, Subaru would have to let Chery take the reins in China, meaning that every Subaru would be sold with a Chery badge and through a Chery-run dealer. Whether or not Subaru will agree to this has remains to be seen.
This isn’t the first time Chery has tried to team up with a foreign automaker, having inked failed deals in the past with Chrysler and Fiat.
Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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