SlashGear

Chrysler is looking into using Chery Automobile to assemble a small car for the international non-US market. The car will be sold under the Dodge or Chrysler brand. This would allow Chrysler and Dodge to enter third-world markets like South East Asia, which are not big fans of Chrysler’s big cars with huge fuel-guzzling engines. Daimler Chrysler already has an existing partnership with a Chinese company, Beijing Automotive Industry Corp. The joint venture assembles SUVs for Daimler Chrysler and recently the Mercedes Benz E-Class. But the JV company lacks experience and skills to manufacture small cars, which Chery has. Chrysler could be seeking to produce the Dodge Hornet concept, a small B-segment vehicle smaller than Dodge’s smallest car, the Dodge Neon. The Dodge Hornet Concept was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2006.