Zhongxing holds its own show

A few blocks from the North American International Auto Show, the main event in town, a New Jersey firm held its own display of a pair of Chinese-built cars.
China America Cooperative Automotive Inc. (Chamco), whose management includes executives who quit U.S. entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin's venture to import Chinese cars, is making its own plans to sell cars built in China in the United States.
The Parsippany, N.J., firm displayed two sedans built by Hebei Zhongxing Automobile Co. Ltd., a privately-owned Chinese automaker, at the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit.
Those, however, are not the vehicles that Chamco plans to sell here. Chamco Chief Executive Veechwin Li told The Detroit News that the company planned to sell a compact pickup truck and a midsize sport utility vehicle built by Hebei Zhongxing in Mexico later this year and in the United States by mid-2008.
More Chinese autos in U.S.
Chamco is the latest in a series of companies, ranging from established global automakers to fledgling ventures, seeking to bring Chinese cars to the U.S. market.
A Chinese automaker called Changfeng Group Co. is displaying five vehicles in its exhibit at the Detroit auto show, which opens to the public on Saturday.
A year ago, Geely Automobile Co. showed a sedan in the hallway outside the main display areas at Cobo -- although U.S.-based Geely executives acknowledged that it did not meet U.S. safety and emission standards.
Last month, DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group announced plans to bring subcompacts built by China's Chery Automobile Co. to North America and other markets.
Bricklin, an American entrepreneur best known for bringing Yugo cars to the United States, initially planned to sell premium cars in the United States built by Chery, a fast-growing Chinese automaker viewed as having potential to become a big player. But the venture unraveled, with Bricklin expressing disappointment in Chery's capabilities.
He told The Detroit News this week that he was in talks with more than a dozen Chinese automakers, including Changfeng, and hoped to select three of them to build hybrid cars that he would sell in the United States. "We'll build only the electric, plug-in hybrid," he said.
The current craze for Chinese cars recalls the rash of Japanese automakers and U.S. importers that scrambled in the 1950s and 1960s to bring low-cost Japanese cars to the United States. Ultimately, however, only a handful of Japanese brands succeeded.
"The Chinese situation is probably unique," said James Hossack, senior consultant at AutoPacific in Tustin, Calif. "There appear to be far more Chinese companies than any of us could have conceived -- dozens, possibly hundreds."
Chinese can't market globally
Most analysts say the Chinese still have a long way to go before they are capable of producing vehicles that can compete globally. "The U.S. market isn't easy to crack, and only a few will succeed," Hossack said.
Chamco's executive vice president for sales Richard Kalika said the pickup would be priced around $13,250 and the SUV around $13,750.
Chamco wants to line up 150 U.S. dealers. It has 13 who have put down deposits to become partners and sell the vehicles and verbal commitments from 15 to 20 others, a company spokesman said.
Li expects annual sales of 75,000 vehicles in the early years of the business. He hopes to add a Zhongxing-built sedan and crossover to the range later on.
The business faces crucial hurdles, however. The vehicles don't meet U.S. emissions and safety standards -- and Chamco hasn't settled yet on a brand name.