Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. was established on January 8, 1997, with a registered capital of 4.1 billion yuan. With the strategic goal of building an "international brand," the company has become the largest domestic independent brand automobile manufacturer, integrating research and development, trial production, production, and sales of complete vehicles, powertrains, and key components. It is also China's largest passenger car exporter.
The company has a production capacity of 900,000 vehicles, 900,000 sets of engines, and 800,000 transmissions per year. It has established five major passenger car product platforms: A00, A0, A, B, and SUV, with a portfolio of twenty-one models across eleven series. Chery focuses on "safety, energy efficiency, and environmental friendliness" as its product development goals and has obtained international quality system certifications such as ISO 9001 and Germany's TÜV Rheinland ISO/TS 16949.
Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. originated from a government automotive project in Wuhu City, Anhui Province. The local government had long desired to embark on an automotive project. During the economic boom in 1992-1993, a village-owned factory in Wuhu generated nearly one billion yuan in profit, sparking the idea of entering the automotive industry among local government leaders who were concerned about economic backwardness. Originally, the plan was to cooperate with First Automobile Works (FAW), but the cooperation was not successful.
During a visit to the European automotive industry in January 1995, Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. learned that Ford UK was selling one of its engine production lines. Seizing this opportunity, the Wuhu leadership decided to start the project. Due to restrictions on passenger car projects imposed by national policies, the project had to be carried out in secrecy. Therefore, it was internally codenamed "Project 951" (referring to Anhui's top project during the Ninth Five-Year Plan) and publicly referred to as "Anhui Automotive Parts Industry Company (Preparatory Office)." The project was kept low-key throughout its development.
