Chinese Auto Maker Heading For U.S.

SHANGHAI, April 23, 2007; Reuters reported that an automaking unit of Brilliance China Automotive Holdings aims to sell internally developed sedans in the United States as early as this year, a senior executive said.

"We are making preparations for the market entry currently and hope to ship the first batch of the BS6 sedan there late this year or in early 2008," Zhigang Liu, president of Shenyang Brilliance Jinbei, told Reuters on the sidelines of the Shanghai auto show late on Sunday.

If the move goes ahead as planned, it would potentially make Brilliance, BMW's China partner, the first mainland Chinese automaker to break into the world's largest vehicle market.

Brilliance has invested at least 10 billion yuan to develop its own-brand cars so far and would follow up with a similar amount in the next five years, Liu said