Geely, Other Chinese Automakers' U.S. Hopes Hit Roadblocks

Washington DC August 14, 2006; The AIADA newsletter reported that Geely, the Chinese automaker who wowed visitors at the Detroit Auto Show in January with its $10,000 7151 CK sedan, will not import the car as it had pledged, after the vehicle failed to meet U.S. safety and emissions standards, reported BrandWeek.

Geely had promised to sell the cars in the U.S. by 2008. "These cars did pass on much of the criteria," Rick Zhang, project manager, Geely International Corp. in Shanghai, China, said of the 12 CK sedans brought to the U.S. for testing.

The automaker, instead, plans to develop a new midsized sedan with planned delivery for 2009. Parts for the new model are "roughly" ready, Zhang said, "and now we are looking at where to assemble it."

Many other Chinese automakers who planned to come to the U.S. in 2007 or after – Chery Automobile, Great Wall Automobile Holding, and Zhongxing Auto – are now also extending their timelines for entry into the U.S.