Qoros: Dark horse contender emerges in market

The newest arrival on the scene among independent Chinese auto manufacturers, Qoros made a second appearance at the ongoing Geneva Motor Show, with the world premiere of its second production model the Qoros 3 Hatch.

A 50-50 joint venture established in 2007 by China's Chery, and Israel Corp - the largest holding company in its namesake country, Qoros attended the Geneva show last year for the first time.

"The bigger exhibition area and prime position (between Maserati and Rolls-Royce) indicated that Qoros has received recognition from the show organizers," said Guo Qian, chairman and CEO of the company based in Changshu, Jiangsu province.

Last year, Qoros made the global debut of its brand and its first production model, the four-door compact Qoros 3 Sedan, along with two concepts - the Qoros 3 hybrid and Qoros 3 estate, at the Geneva show.

It is aimed at competing with similar models from Volkswagen and Toyota.

Compared with the Qoros 3 Sedan, "the Hatch will appeal to the modern metropolitan customers," said Vice-Chairman Volker Steinwascher.

"It offers those with active outdoor lifestyles or young families extra practicality, combined with added coolness thanks to its more spirited, sporty look."

Admitting that Qoros mainly focuses on the China market, he said "we want to make it a true international brand so that we bring it to Geneva facing European media and customers, which are among the most critical".

According to Qoros, the model is being designed and engineered by an international team of experienced specialists and new, young automotive talent, which deeply understand the requirements of its target audience - the discerning young customers in China and Europe.

The Hatch is based on the same modular platform as the Sedan. However, the Hatch features new C-pillars, roof, rear-side panels, and tailgate, plus a new rear roof to maintain an exceptional torsional rigidity.

Using the same high-strength steel and structural design that helped the Sedan win the "safest car of 2013" title from Euro NCAP, the Hatch has the same wheelbase, width and height, but the overall length has been reduced by 177mm.

The Hatch is also equipped with the same 1.6-liter naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines and six-speed manual and dual-clutch automatic transmissions as the Sedan.

The Hatch will be built in the Qoros' plant in Changshu, on the same production line as the Sedan.

Guo told China Daily that since the prices of Qoros 3 Sedan - from 119,900 yuan to 167,900 yuan for six variants - were announced in November, Qoros began to deliver vehicles to Chinese customers at the end of last year.

"The sales in January were about 100 units, and soon increased to 350 units in February. The accumulated figure has surpassed 1,000 units now," said Guo.

Guo predicted that monthly sales will reach 1,000 units soon and whole-year sales will hit 150,000 units.

The designed annual output of its Changshu plant is 450,000 units.

"Sales is limited currently because we just started establishing our distribution channels, in a cautious way. We highlight the quality instead of quantity of dealerships," said Stefano Villanti, sales and marketing director of Qoros. "We now have around 20 dealer outlets, with another 40 under construction," said Villanti.

"The Beijing showroom will open in June and the Guangzhou outlet will follow soon."

By the end of this year, Qoros plans to have more than 100 dealerships around the country.

Though it is a newcomer in China, Qoros is already making moves in Europe. It tested the market of the Czech Republic last year by selling nearly 100 vehicles, as the first step in its planned expansion through Europe.

However, Guo said China is the focus of Qoros' development at present.

"We will focus on China market right now, and develop the European markets after we well established ourselves in China in the near future."