Brilliance China Targets Car Sales Of 200,000 Over 5 Yrs

BEIJING -Dow Jones reported that Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. officially made its long-anticipated move into the passenger car market Tuesday, and said it expects to sell about 40,000 units of its new sedan annually.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the formal launch of the company's Zhonghua model sedan, Chief Executive Su Qiang said: "We expect to sell 180,000-200,000 cars in the next five years and 400,000-450,000 cars in the next 10 years."

Su also said Brilliance hopes to maintain the leading market position of its minibuses, which had total sales of 63,009 in 2001, up 5% on year.

"It's a big day for us," he said, as the Zhonghua launch marks the culmination of five years of work by Brilliance to add passenger cars to its product lineup.

New York and Hong Kong-listed Brilliance owns 51% of minibus manufacturer Shenyang Jinbei, which is now making the Zhonghua sedan. Brilliance also has interests in several automobile parts makers in China.

The Zhonghua car, whose name means China, has a standard retail price of 169, 800 yuan ($1=CNY8.28). Brilliance started production of the Zhonghua in 2000 but didn't receive central government approval to sell the car nationally until May 2002.

"It's a good car," said an executive at another automobile manufacturer who attended the Zhonghua launch ceremony, pointing to its roomy interior and many standard features.

"If it had come out last year, the price would have been very competitive, but now there are too many cheap cars on the market," the executive said. Several local manufacturers have introduced passenger cars priced in the CNY100,000 range this year, sparking a surge in auto sales.

Brilliance also has a planned joint venture with luxury carmaker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG of Germany, which is expected to start making BMW "3" and "5" series cars in the second half of 2003.

But Su played down any potential conflict with BMW in his remarks, saying that Brilliance will continue to cooperate with international auto companies even while developing its own models and technology.

Su took over as head of Brilliance in June, after the automaker ousted its founder and former chief executive, Yang Rong. The move came after reports that Yang was under investigation for financial improprieties involving the firm, though Brilliance has denied knowledge of any investigation.