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Crash Course in Quality for Chinese CarPox*T=
Chery's Hot-Selling AmuletNJgbX
Crumples in a Russian Test,},,G<
Raising Broad Safety IssueR;2Tg|
©緣生術數研究社 -- 術數研究 \M#
By ANDREW OSBORN{$
August 8, 2007; Page B10L:gM
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL|
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MOSCOW -- Add another product to the list of Chinese exports whose safety is being called into question: cars.w#-
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In one of the few crash-tests to date of a Chinese-made vehicle outside China, a Chery Amulet sedan's front end folded like a concertina in a recent trial here. z+WGP
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The Russian car magazine that organized the test said it was one of the worst performances ever and called upon Chery Automobile Co. to withdraw the car from the market. A clip of the crash test posted on Google Inc.'s video-sharing service YouTube has drawn almost 163,000 viewers.GIN
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Russia is China's biggest auto-export market, and the $9,000 Amulet is the top Chinese model in Russia, selling 10,119 cars in the first half of 2007, up from 702 in the same period a year earlier. A state-accredited safety testing center passed the Amulet in the rudimentary tests required for cars sold in Russia -- where price typically outweighs safety for budget-minded consumers -- and the car remains on the road today.;
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Chery contends that the test was biased. The lab that conducted it is owned by Russia's biggest car maker, OAO Avtovaz, a major Chery competitor. Chery officials were present during the test, on April 27, but at the time they didn't cite any specific deficiencies in the procedure. A Chery representative said this was because they were there only as observers, and protocol precluded them from making comments.W^+m6d
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He said the company strongly suspects that the test was part of a campaign of dirty tricks by competitors to discredit Chinese-made cars, which pose an increasing threat to Russia's own enfeebled auto industry. But he declined to give any details on how the test could have been rigged.t
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The lab, Russia's biggest and a tester for a wide variety of vehicles, says the presence of auto magazine AvtoRevu was "a guarantor" of the test's independence. The magazine, which paid the lab to conduct the test of the Amulet, rejected any claim of bias; it said the test was "200% independent," and says it has no affiliation with any manufacturer.QsY`Nb
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Among Russia's most respected car magazines, AvtoRevu has conducted 39 crash tests in its 17-year history, many of locally made cars not tested by governments elsewhere. One of the worst performances -- a score of 0 out of 16 -- was recorded by an Avtovaz model in 2001. At times, the magazine has been scathing about the safety record of some homegrown models, and it has also given top marks to some foreign models that compete with Russian ones, including cars from the U.S., Italy, France and South Korea.:
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The Amulet was subjected to a test that AvtoRevu calls Europe's benchmark, the EuroNCAP. On impact with a metal crash barrier at 64 kilometers (nearly 40 miles) per hour, the Amulet's front door sills "crumpled like newspaper," AvtoRevu said in its June issue. The magazine said the test dummy became so entwined with the wreckage of the car that it had to be removed piece by piece. Out of a possible 16 points, the Amulet got just 1.7.'lk
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"We have never seen such terrible deformation of a car's body," AvtoRevu reporter Yury Vetrov, who observed the tests, wrote in his article. jD
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A month after the Russian test, Chery had the Amulet tested in China, hiring the commercial arm of the U.K. government's Vehicle Certification Agency to conduct the trial in its lab in Shanghai. The conditions were less demanding: the car's speed was 56 kilometers an hour; the impact was full-frontal rather than the more difficult angle the Russian lab used; there was an airbag, unlike the model in Russia; and the crash barrier was less rigid than in the previous test.`FM}
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The U.K. agency said the Amulet met European safety standards in this test. But a spokesman for the agency later stressed that the result applies only to the single car on that one day and didn't amount to an endorsement of the entire line.UO
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The AvtoRevu article questioned the quality of the metal used in the Amulet: "Where is the guarantee that the Chinese have not cut costs on new models crafting the frames from low quality steel?" aFUD~
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In tests of the another Chery model, the QQ, and a very similar car, the Matiz subcompact from South Korea's GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., a unit of General Motors Corp., AvtoRevu said the Chinese model fared worse because softer metal used in the door-lock mechanism gave way and the door popped open. [.
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Chery maintains it uses top-quality metal.$ g\
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State-owned Chery was founded in 1997 and is already China's largest car exporter. The company said it regards the Russian market, where it has been selling the Amulet since 2005, as a test track for more sophisticated markets, notably the U.S.*Fc;+
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Cerberus-owned Chrysler last month finalized a deal making Chery its partner to develop a range of small cars for sale in the U.S., and has vowed to work with the Chinese to improve vehicle safety. The Amulet, one of the oldest models in Chery's young lineup, isn't slated for sale in the U.S.x
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Steven Landry, executive vice president of marketing and sales at Chrysler, said he realizes customers have concerns about Chinese-made products and that is why Chrysler will have a lot of its staff involved in the development of the Chery-made vehicles at an early stage to ensure quality and safety. Frank Klegon, Chrysler's executive vice president of product development, said Chrysler officials will help choose suppliers that have a demonstrated track record. "It's Chrysler's reputation at the end of the day," Mr. Klegon said.u.VPoq
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In the past, Chinese auto-industry officials have acknowledged that their vehicles aren't up to Western safety standards, which other tests have borne out. Last month, Germany's influential ADAC, the largest national auto club for consumers, tested a Brilliance BS6 sedan, made by Shenyang Brilliance Jinbei Automobile Co., which isn't sold in Germany, and called the result "catastrophic." Jing Yao, a spokeswoman for Shenyang Brilliance, said the company is working to improve. "Vehicle quality is making steady progress," she said.%c1[
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Meanwhile, Russian consumers don't seem fazed. Chery sales there continue to surge, and the company is introducing new models.="
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--Gina Chon in Detroit, Jennifer Clark in Milan, Tang Hanting in Shanghai and Zhou Yang in Beijing contributed to this article.#%
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Write to Andrew Osborn at [email protected]G2
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