Founders

Chery was founded in 1997 by some provincial leaders in China and began production two years later. Using a Volkswagen-licensed body, the Fengyun model was produced, and around 30,000 units were sold. To many, the brand was a strange one from the start, as the company was not allowed to build passenger cars until 2003, but its first product was produced in 1999. In fact, the product was not legally on the market until 2001. Until the right time came, Chery was doing all its business under license from SAIC Motor. For this reason, SAIC Motor held a 20% stake in Chery, to the point where tensions between the group and another of SAIC Motor’s partners, General Motors, were high and a 20% stake was sold. GM is not the only foreign company with problems with the brand.  Volkswagen also claimed that Chery used its machine tools to build one of its models in 2003.