Malcolm Bricklin, the entrepreneur who brought the Yugo car to the United States in the 1980s, said he has lined up the first six dealers to sell Chinese cars in America beginning in 2007.
Bricklin, who plans to sell 250,000 vehicles in the first year, outlined to the dealers last week his plan to offer high-quality Chinese vehicles that "redefine the price of luxury."
China's Chery Automobile Co., which will make the cars, has been accused of pirating a compact car sold in China by General Motors Corp. known as the Chevrolet Spark. But Bricklin said the cars they will make for him will offer quality as good as Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus luxury brand.
According to the plan, the China-built vehicles sold on the U.S. market will cost about 30 per cent less than comparable cars.
"We talked to our first six [dealers] last week, and our first six said 'yes,' " Bricklin said during a speech to the Society of Automotive Analysts in Southfield, outside Detroit.
The dealers have agreed to put $2-million (U.S.) in escrow to invest in Bricklin's company, Visionary Vehicles LLC, and in a Chery factory in China that will build the cars for the U.S. market, said Pierre Gagnon, president and chief operating officer of North American sales and distribution for Visionary.
Gagnon, a former chief executive officer of Mitsubishi Motors Corp.'s North American operations, declined to name the dealers. But they will travel to China to visit Chery facilities next month, then finalize plans to join Bricklin's company, said Gagnon, who joined Bricklin earlier this month.
Within the next 30 days, Visionary expects to have a total of 25 dealers, with 250 dealers on board within 120 days, Gagnon told Reuters.
Analysts have said that Chery will have difficulty accelerating its output, while also meeting U.S. government safety and environmental standards, consumer demands for quality and desire for original designs. But Bricklin said he believes the cars will be able to compete with Lexus and other top-quality brands.
"We are going after Lexus quality," he said.
