Jan. 23, 2007 (China Knowledge) – Chery Automobile has announced plans to build three plants abroad to assemble its own brand of cars in Middle East, Eastern Europe and South America, said Yin Tongyao, chairman of the Anhui-based company.

Yin, however, did reveal details such as the size of investment, production capacity and specific locations.

Chery, China's leading car exporter, has six overseas facilities operated with partners in Iran, Malaysia, Russia, Ukraine, Brazil and Egypt, according to Yin and other executives.

The new plants are part of Chery’s goals to lift sales to at least 393,000 cars in 2007, a 28.9% year-on-year increase, as well as sales goal of one million vehicles by 2010.

Last year, China's overall vehicle exports doubled to 340,000 units over 2005, with passenger cars tripling to 90,000 units. In 2005, China had already replaced Japan in terms of car unit sales to become the second-largest automobile market in the world after the U.S. And for the first time, exports exceeded imports with 150,000 vehicles being sold overseas.