According to a report from the Wall Street Journal,China’s Qoros Automotive Co. is betting that China’s drivers will want a new brand they’ve never heard of.
“As a new brand I will expect that there will be things to solve,” Stefano Villanti, head of sales, marketing and product strategy, said Friday on the sidelines of an auto show in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. “The critical part is having a very timely response from the market and to react fast.”
“As a new brand I will expect that there will be things to solve,” Stefano Villanti, head of sales, marketing and product strategy, said Friday on the sidelines of an auto show in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. “The critical part is having a very timely response from the market and to react fast.”
Founded six years ago as a joint venture between China’s Chery Automobile Co. and investment group Israel Corp., Qoros is hoping to capture a share of China’s market for midsize sedans. It hopes to differentiate itself from other Chinese and foreign brands by offering better quality cars with a European cachet.
To do that, it has hired about two hundred foreigners to help it design and make its cars, including Gert Volker Hildebrand, who helped redesign the Mini brand for BMW AG. The first hit the market this month.
It is entering the market at a time when competition is intensifying, with more Chinese auto makers trying to go upmarket, while many foreign automakers and their Chinese joint venture partners are moving to introduce cheaper models too. Chery is also the Chinese partner for the Jaguar Land Rover unit of India’s Tata Motors Ltd., which also has expansion plans in China.
Analysts like Yale Zhang with consulting firm Automotive Foresight say that the biggest challenge facing the company is its newness. “If you can prove that you have good products and convince dealers and show momentum that consumer really like it, then it will help accelerate recruitment of dealers and their development in the market,” he said.
Shanghai-based Qoros earlier this year received a five-star score from Euro NCAP, a prominent European crash test, for its Qoros Sedan 3, which Mr. Zhang described as an “amazing” feat given that performance on similar tests by Chinese auto makers has been poor.
The company on Thursday said the Qoros 3 sedan has a price tag starting at 119,900 yuan ($19,600) in China. The price is higher than many domestic rivals, but Mr. Villanti says many of those that consider the price high haven’t experienced the product.
Built at a new factory near Shanghai, the Qoros Sedan 3 will go on sale in China as well as Eastern Europe, where Qoros wants to assess the reception of the vehicle before expanding into other markets in the region. The company said the plant has a annual capacity of 150,000 cars, which it expects to reach in two years from now. Qoros would not disclose sales targets.
