A logo in search of a market?
China-based Qoros Auto Company will debut a new compact or C-class sedan at next year’s Geneva Motor Show as part of what it claims will be a series of vehicles aimed at buyers in China, Europe and the Middle East.
This business plan, of course, is easily done by press release. However, the design, development, manufacturing and wholesaling of actual cars and light trucks sometimes is more difficult, occasionally thwarting even the best of established automakers.
The independent company said it has enlisted major global suppliers, including Magna Steyr, TRW, Continental, Bosch, Valeo, Microsoft and Iconmobile, to help develop yet another small vehicle line in an already saturated market. Europe, for example, has capacity to build 20 million vehicles in a market that has shrunk for five straight years to its current 12 million-unit level
Qoros is claiming a unique architecture that will allow for the quick rollout of a range of models and variants, including the introduction of hybrid and electric vehicles. New variants are expected to launch roughly every six months.
Qoros has financing from Chery Automobile and Israel Corporation, a holding company with an initial registered capital of RMB 3.4 billion, or roughly $544 million. It has design and R&D centers in Munich, Graz and Shanghai. The headquarters is based in Changshu, Jiangsu Province. A plant as well as with an initial annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles and a maximum production capacity of 450,000 vehicles is under development.
