China's Chery launches Vantas, a premium SUV for the US
Chery says it will work with HAAH Automotive to build the Vantas in America.
I see lots of different designs here and it's sort of weird.
For years, we've heard that soon Chinese automakers will finally begin cracking their way into the US car market. Those plans have largely failed to come to pass for various reasons, most recently the US-China trade war, which has put some companies' plans on the back burner.
Yet these companies still see America as a prime market, and on Monday, we learned of the latest company set to once again try and break into the US. Vantas is the brand name China's Chery Automobile chose for its upcoming line of cars for the US. There's an intriguing hook: The company said all of the cars sold under the Vantas brand in the US and Canada will be made in US factories to support domestic jobs. As for where those assembly plants will be, and when we'll see production start, the company didn't say.
Chery will work with HAAH Automotive to oversee the process of bringing production, and ultimately Vantas vehicles, to America. HAAH may sound familiar: The California-based company is also partnered with Zotye, another Chinese car company that plans to import its vehicles to the US.
While Zotye has taken a traditional route and signed on numerous dealers for franchises, Chery plans to sell its Vantas-branded vehicles online with an HAAH-developed online sales platform. The firm said this system combines dealer operations with the efficiency of the internet for quicker transactions and increased transparency for customers. Time will tell if those statements ring true.
As for the vehicle itself, the Vantas SUV is a rebadged version of the Exeed TX. Exeed is Chery's premium brand in its home country. Essentially, this Porsche Cayenne/Mitsubishi Outlander -looking mashup would compete with the likes of numerous other established premium brands. The US auto market is no easy place to do business and there are oodles of established luxury SUVs already sold in America. Will this Chinese luxo rig find its own lane? We'll see.
