Thursday, July 12, 2007

Chinese Automaker's U.S. Affiliate Moves to Oklahoma

Tiger Truck, the Dallas-based distributor of China's Chang'an vehicles, is shifting gears and now plans to open a modest assembly facility in Oklahoma, rather than Texas, as it had announced earlier this year.

Based in Chongqing in central China, Chang'an makes a wide range of mini vehicles, including trucks and vans, some under license from Suzuki. In China, its affiliates include Ford and Mazda.

Tiger Truck has been importing Chang'an mini vehicles for several years, shipping them mainly to Mexico and Latin America. The vehicles are not yet certified for sale in the United States.

Tiger's CEO Mike Ward said the company plans to ship the first vehicles from the Oklahoma facility in early 2008. The vehicles will be assembled from kits shipped from China.

Tiger said the Chang'an vehicles are being purchased for off-highway use in the U.S., in such applications as golf courses, military bases, farms and college campuses.

The Oklahoma plant will begin building a larger Chang'an model, a full-size truck in two- and four-door configurations that is intended mainly for export markets. It will be sold in North America as the Champ and in other markets as the Leopard.

A second model, a medium-duty truck due at midyear, will be equipped with an EPA-certified diesel engine and can be licensed in the U.S. for on-road use, according to Tiger, which said it hopes to assemble 7,500 vehicles a year.

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