The Dodge Hornet concept is the front-runner to be the first car assembled by China’s Chery Automobile company for the U.S. maket, supplier sources and Chery insiders have reportedly said.
The news comes four months after Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda said a then-recent deal with Chery did not not involve the Dodge Hornet. At the time, Chrysler said it had signed a preliminary agreement with Chery for production of a b-segment car for America.
This latest report, published by Automotive News, suggests Chery will build two cars for Chrysler. A production version of the Hornet concept “is fixed, but no final contract has been signed,” says an executive at a European company supplying Chery.




04/02, 4:31 PM
posted by:
MY Si
1ST COMMENT WOOT! HMM I HAVE ALWAYS LIKED THIS HORNET BUT WILL IT SELL OVER HERE. I MEAN THE SCION xB IS DOING GREAT BUT THIS THING IS KINDA SMALL. HMM CHRYSLER MIGHT WANNA SEE HOW smart WILL DO THEN START APPROVING THE HORNET.
04/02, 4:44 PM
posted by:
Elvio
This thing will sell…..
04/02, 4:47 PM
posted by:
F451
I agree, it will sell in the States. I wonder whether there will be a Chinese buyer for Chrysler?
04/02, 4:51 PM
posted by:
Syrax
i don’t think it will sell in us…as much as the times are changing americans still buy bigger cars.
04/02, 5:14 PM
posted by:
RLX02
i wonder what the build quality and reliability is going to be like…
04/02, 5:16 PM
posted by:
Driven
Its supposed to be a ~$10,000 car. Even at approximately 11k this car would be about 35% cheaper than the better Scion xB. It is a viable alternative for the price conscious buyer at this end of the market. It could do well in the US.
This is Chery’s chance to enter the lucrative US market. Chery has their entire reputation in the US riding on this product. Chances are the build quality will be top notch. Otherwise Chery will be shunned by other manufacturers and the US consumer.
04/02, 5:28 PM
posted by:
RLX02
Were they not sued already by hyundai and honda for ripping off their designs or was that another group. I just remember seeing that crash test of a chinese SUV getting almost completely destroyed at 35~mph…not a good sight.
04/02, 5:48 PM
posted by:
PrimeGTP
Recipe for disaster. Chrysler already has a bad reputation, and to out-source production to a low-quality Chinese manufacturer will only make it worse.
04/02, 5:52 PM
posted by:
Driven
Chery hasnt built anything for the US market so its anyones guess how this will turn out. Chery is only assembling the cars and doing so to Dodge specs. Dodge is not using Chery designs or Chery engineering and the cars have to pass all US safety tests. The car should be as safe as any small dodge. Which means on par with other cars in the B segment.
Chery is just acting as an assembly plant for Dodge. This deal with Chery is no different than GMs late 80’s deal with Koreas Daewoo. Or the Mazda/Ford deal with Korea’s Kia in the late 80’s early 90’s. Both those deals lead Kia and Daewoo to learn about the US market before entering with their own, not as well engineered, models. If the Dodge deal goes well we will see Chery in the US within the decade.
Nothing like the big three training their soon-to-be competition. Sacrifice long term gains for short term growth - its the big three way.
04/02, 8:01 PM
posted by:
LJ
This will not compete with the ALL NEW SCION xB, for 2008. New xB went form 155 inches total length ot around 168 inches in total length, or maybe 1 inch shorter than the PY Cruiser.
It also has the Scion tC engine, but very slightly de9tuned to 158HP, I-4, 2.4 Liter.
This thing has No REAL Comparison to the 2008 xB!
Plus, I AM SICK OF CARS THAT LOOK LIKE SUV’S.
WHY NOT BUILD A PT CRUISER COUPE, LIKE THEY HAVE SHOWN AT AUTOSHOWS?
MAKE IT PT SIZED?
People are buying Lancers(08 model rocks).. tC’s, and opther compact CARS in my area(not SUV, or thing thatlook like suvs).
Big 3 trip me out. Everyone’s buying cars, they build CUV’s.
take care/not offense.
Here’s Hoping the “2nd car” IS a car., I mentioned PT Cruiser.. it is a car, that looks like an old school car, not an SUV looking thing, like the fornt of the Dodge Avenger, looking Dodge Ram like.
04/02, 8:19 PM
posted by:
0GSharK6
As safe as a small Dodge.
That idea brings me to the Neon. In which a person I know was nearly killed when hit from the side. I think the guy who hit her was going a whopping 30.
04/02, 8:25 PM
posted by:
JonesZ
Find it strange that US automakers are looking to China in order to compete and Jap,Korean,Euro automakers are building cars in the US in order to compete? Common denominator? Unions?
Anyway, buy Chinese and YOU support every despotitc regime that wants nothing more than to make you a Dhimmi or see you dead.
04/02, 8:29 PM
posted by:
PrimeGTP
You’re right, LJ, this car will never compete with the xB. Because nothing *competes* with the xB, everything under the sun blows it away!
04/02, 8:39 PM
posted by:
swamprat
I guess people are used to buying chinese cameras, watches, stereos, TV’s, cellphones, PDA’s, computers, printers, lightbulbs, clothing, and just about everything else, so why not cars? Most people don’t even care. I do. I think its ridiculous and an act of treasonous folly to embrace the developments that have been taking place over the last 30 years. We only import 800 billion more than we export, so everything is great? Why not make it an even trillion? Maybe two? Keep going in debt, Amerika. We’re number one. Yeah, right.
04/02, 11:02 PM
posted by:
europerspective
There’s nothing the Chinese make, that they don’t copy. Will this be any different?
04/02, 11:03 PM
posted by:
Impulsive
Money talks. This will sell. When this ball starts rolling, there’s no stopping it.
“swamprat”, you can’t stop it.
04/03, 12:37 AM
posted by:
TOZO
Only way it’ll be profitable. China!!!
04/03, 12:47 AM
posted by:
car-a-holic
JonesZ:
interesting point, but that hasnt stopped us from buying their other crap. This car though…..China refuse flushed straight down a ceramic Kohl——>Voila
04/03, 3:25 AM
posted by:
deutschetouring1337
Heh their corporate websites been hacked lol.
04/03, 7:55 AM
posted by:
Gogogodzilla
I dunno how this will pan out. Personally, I liked the Hornet concept car. I’d even consider buying one.
But… BUT…
Now I learn that it’s going to be built in China. Hmmm, I don’t really know about the build quality or reliability we can expect out of them.
Sooo…
I guess the upshot is that most people will take a ‘wait and see’ approach to the Hornet, as no-one wants to buy a shoddy car.
04/03, 9:00 AM
posted by:
gbb
Could be sweet if built in one of the North American plants.
Built in China=junk.
04/03, 9:17 AM
posted by:
cookie4me
If you pay attention and look at where your DVD player is made, television, furniture, etc., you are going to be surprised by how much of your sh*t is made in China. Once you realize how much of your stuff is made in china and then think of how long it has held up, I think you’ll come to the conclusion that its pretty solid or has held up fairly well. I don’t think build quality is going to be much worse than an average Chrysler (something probably accepted if you can buy it for less than $10,000). Dealing with the chinese is a double edged sword but when your back is up against the wall, money is flying out the door, and you have a chance at bringing a car like this to market for less than $10k. What would you do? Build in USA at a loss or build in China for a profit? Companies aren’t in existence to perpetuate job protection but to make a profit. The key for the union is how to help companies make a profit.
04/03, 10:16 AM
posted by:
kellyp
apparently cars made by us companies in us plants have excellent build quality. how much money did “the big three” lose last year?
04/03, 10:18 AM
posted by:
HoosierHero
So it begins…
04/03, 11:20 AM
posted by:
Veda
deantj, I second your comments and it may just sell provided that the actual engineering will be done by Chrysler as opposed to Chery’s inferior design team. Their pure in-house design has been nothing more than unsafe crap
04/03, 2:03 PM
posted by:
Veda
BTW, does anyone in this site even realize that other major manufacturers have plants in Thailand, India, and other third world countries? The quality of the new Camry built in Thailand for example is much worse than the one we get in US. Why is it such a big thing when they’re manufactured in China? If anything they have perfected copying and replicating other people’s designs.
04/03, 5:43 PM
posted by:
DialM4Speed
How anyone could like this piece of crap is beyond me. This is a totally bad idea to sell something made in China. When the thing falls apart 5 days after ya buy it who is going to be blamed? Chrysler!
04/03, 7:31 PM
posted by:
1c3d0g
My thoughts exactly, PrimeGTP.