Chery
Chery confirms participation in 2010 Dakar Rally
Quite an unlikely entrant, but Chery is set to be the first Chinese automaker to participate in the Dakar Rally. The 2010 edition of “The World’s Toughest Race” will start on New Year’s Day and end on January 16. It will once again be held in Argentina and Chile, with the 9000 km loop starting and ending in Buenos Aires.
Flying the Chery flag will be its Rely fleet of SUVs – two X5 race cars, one X5 conductor car and one H5 support car. Leading the driver lineup will be Ningjun Lu, who has raced in Dakar five times before. “It’s definitely stressful to attend the 2010 Dakar Rally, but X5, as a real Chinese brand, has different meaning, we have to get good scores,” said a motivated Lu.
Rely is not the model name but rather a sub-brand created by Chery for its home market focussing on “high-end all-round commercial vehicles”. Chery also has Riich and Karry sub brands for premium passenger cars and compacts, respectively.
