Chinese still on the menu: Ateco

Budget Chinese brands, Chery and GWM, are set for a third quarter launch in Australia and New Zealand despite claims the exchange rate had caused the delay. Yesterday, the Carsales Network reported that the local distributor for the two brands, Ateco Automotive, had come down with a bout of cold feet (more here).

Not so, says Ateco's PR Manager, Edward Rowe, who elaborated on comments from the brand consultant for Chery and GWM, Anne Wild.

He supported Wild's comments that Ateco remained steadfast in its decision to bring the new brands to Australia despite the challenges it faces amid the sales downturn and troubled economy.

"We are 100 per cent committed to the launch of the Chinese brands on the Australia and New Zealand markets," Rowe told the Carsales Network. "They are very much at the heart of the future of our company and our commitment to them is complete."

Although he confirms that GWM was delayed from its original launch date by a production hold in China, Rowe insists there was never any plan to launch either Chery or GWM by March and refutes Wild's comments that the falling exchange rate is to blame.

However, according to Rowe the fluctuating exchange rate has raised a question over the model make-up and pricing of both brands but he says that will only be an issue when Ateco begins ordering cars for the local market.

He confirmed that Ateco would cherry pick what models the company would import from each brand, in keeping with its usual practice with its other brands.

"It has always been Ateco's policy to have a tight, focused range of models that best suit the key four or five major market sectors and limit the number of variants and options to optimize our dealers' ability to run successful and profitable businesses. This applies to all the brands we represent," Rowe says.