US-based Chrysler, a group under the motor giant DaimlerChrysler, announced on Thursday to authorize South East (Fujian) Motor Co Ltd (SEM) to produce its product Minivan, a kind of light duty passenger car.

The project will go online before the end of next year. The production will be held in SEM's existing workshop, with all the products to be launched in the mainland market, according to Chrysler's President and CEO Thomas LaSorda.

Chrysler previously also permitted Taiwan-based China Motor Corporation (CMC), one of the two shareholders of SEM, also the island's largest motor maker, to produce Minivan in Taiwan.

Though no more detailed information about the investment and output of the new project in East China's Fujian Province were revealed by the group, LaSorda noted that because SEM has a higher potential production capacity, the output and sales volume of Minivan in the mainland market are expected to be much higher than those in Taiwan.

As one of the most popular vehicles of Chrysler that was launched more than 20 years ago, Minivan has been regarded as a middle-to-high end car in the international market. Therefore, the indigenous Minivan, without tariff, will have a lower production cost in the mainland, said LaSorda.

Chrysler signed co-operation intent letters about the Minivan production in Fujian and Taiwan at the end of last year with SEM's two shareholders, Fujian Motor Group (FJMG) and CMC.

In 2004, another brand under the DaimlerChrysler, Mercedes-Benz, also established a co-operative relationship with the two companies to produce its luxurious MPV vehicles in Fujian. The production is predicted to kick off in the middle of next year.

"The authorization of producing Minivan is a natural extension to our co-operation with FJMG and CMC," said LaSorda. "The Minivan project is a significant part of Chrysler's developing strategy in the mainland."

Chrysler enjoyed more sales on the world market last month than in the same period last year, further maintaining the growing momentum for 17 consecutive months.

The group has decided to launch 25 new kinds of vehicles in three years, and has invested heavily in research to discover which among the new cars are suitable to enter the mainland market, LaSorda added.

(China Daily September 17, 2005)