Official: Chery of China to Make Cars for DaimlerChrysler

Dr. Z and the rest of the DaimlerChrysler crew came out today to make a pretty big announcement, but no, it’s about the sale of the Chrysler Group to General Motors. It seems that DCX has inked a deal with Chery Motor Company of China wherein the latter will build Chrysler-branded vehicles for sale in North America and Western Europe.

This “non-equity partnership” is contingent upon the approval of the Chinese government, but if it gets the go ahead, the Chrysler Group will be able to access products “in new segments more quickly, with less capital spending.” You won’t finding a Chery-made Durango any time soon, but the Chinese automaker is working on a number of “small vehicles” so that the Chrysler Group can “compete in segments in which the brands do not currently compete.” A good example of this is the Dodge Hornet.

How this relationship will transfer if the Chrysler Group gets sold off remains to be seen.