Thread: Tijuana site to produce Chinese cars

Tijuana site to produce Chinese cars


By Diane Lindquist
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

June 15, 2007

The first Chinese automobile manufactured in North America will be a three-wheeled vehicle made in a factory on the outskirts of Tijuana.
Chamco Automotive, a company set up to import Chinese vehicles to the United States, will open a $300 million Tijuana assembly plant in 2009 that will produce the vehicles of Hebei Zhongxing Automobile.

Hebei Zhongxing, a small, employee-owned company, is a leading Chinese pickup truck and SUV manufacturer located in Baoding, Hebei Province, which surrounds Beijing.

The long-rumored deal was revealed Wednesday by Chamco affiliate ZX Auto, which will import and distribute the Zhongxing vehicles.

Chamco planned to show off two of the vehicles yesterday at the Tijuana Grand Hotel, where Chinese officials met with Baja California Gov. Eugenio Elorduy Walther to demonstrate their appreciation for his recent trade mission to China. But the announcement was put off, said a source close to the deal.

The vehicles, which cleared customs Tuesday, now are scheduled to be displayed next week at the Las Vegas Auto Show and at a media event in Tijuana, the source said.

Chamco reportedly plans to start selling four-cylinder, $13,000 Chinese-made SUVs and pickups in August, then follow with the Mexican-made three-wheel vehicle two years later. All three vehicles will be sold first in Mexico, probably under the name Jhong or Jhong Auto.

Eventually, 3,000 workers will be employed at the factory in Tijuana's new Las Palmas neighborhood. The factory will do supplemental work on the SUVs and pickups from China.

Chamco – so called after the common name for the Chinese automaker's partner, China American Cooperative Automotive of Parsippany, N.J. – has established a distribution network with a Mexican domestic megadealer that will offer the vehicles at 25 to 30 showrooms throughout Mexico, according to a statement by chief executive officer Bill Pollack. The target is to sell 20,000 vehicles a year.

“By starting in Mexico, we have an opportunity to test all of our systems – transportation, services, warranty and all processes – at a low volume a year before we go to the U.S.,â€

What pile of pure crap that will be...just look of the cheap crap at Walmart

The NAFTA super highway can get these cars into America

The Ford Foundation does support Pro-illegal groups
As does the Frist Foundation in Tennessee

THE ONLY 'GROUPS' THAT DON'T BENEFIT FROM THESE
BEHIND THE SCENE DEALS ARE

'LEGAL HARD-WORKING MIDDLE-CLASS AMERICANS'

BEFORE YOU GO CAR/TRUCK SHOPPING BE SURE YOU ARE NOT SUPPORTING YOUR "ENEMY".