Yang Rong gets Italian designer Giugiaro

More than half year after released massive plans to produce cars, Yang Rong again announced the plans to make cars.

U.S. local time January 19, 2010 11:00 AM, the former chairman of Brilliance Auto Yang Rong who is now chairman of Hybrid Kinetic Motors Corp. in Pasadena, Calif., signed an engineering and design agreement with Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, chairman of Italdesign Giugiaro during a ceremony in Alabama's capital Montgomery.

Agreement period is four years and total amount of the agreement is 500 million U.S. dollars. Kinetic said it was an important agreement after agreements of engine and drivetrain. "The signing of entire vehicle development agreement means that preparation of the product has completed 80 percent%”, said Chief Technology Officer of Kinetic. With the signing of the cooperation agreement, Yang Rong’s 500 million dollars agreement value will be paid to Italdesign Giugiaro as each quarter reaches. This also means that Yang Rong again began his career of producing cars.

Alabama Gov. Robert Riley, Hybrid Kinetic Motors Corp. chairman Yang Rong, founder of Italdesign Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro and related 300 guests attended the signing ceremony. Media coming form the United States, Europe and China and so on also attended the signing ceremony. Baldwin City of Alabama will build a hybrid car production plant of Hybrid Kinetic Motors Corp. and will be put into operation in 2013. Meanwhile, Hybrid Kinetic Motors Corp. will be another auto manufacturer located in Alabama following Honda, Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz. Prior to this, Hybrid Kinetic Motors Corp. had announced invested more than 4.3 billion dollars in Alabama and it would provide more than 5800 jobs.

Hybrid Kinetic Motors’s Chief Executive Officer Wang Chuantao pointed that their cooperation with Giorgetto Giugiaro includes 10 hybrid-type models. Among them, three high-end cars, a taxi, a SUV, a CUV, a MPV, a van, two light truck and will be sold in car market in 2013. Wang Chuantao also revealed that they would continue the cooperation with Italian design company on more than 8 models in the future.

On press conference site, the Italian design company demonstrated the concept car Quaranta designed to commemorate fortieth anniversary of its founding. Quaranta was first showed in North America and the body marked with the vehicle signs of Hybrid Kinetic Motors. Besides, Quaranta has unique style and highly visual impact. The whole top of the glass is also a solar energy storage device using gasoline and electric dual-mode. In contrast to general concept car can only be looked at, this car has been tested on real road before arrival. Giugiaro frankly stated that more than 10 years cooperation with Yang Rong let the Chinese automobile enterprises recognize its designs, and thus provided good opportunities for its business operation in Chinese car market.

In fact, as Giugiaro said, after the auto brand ZhongHua more Chinese own auto brands chose to cooperate with it to develop new models. At present, Giugiaro has good reputation and market situation in China and Europe. However, in the U.S. market, Italian design company Giugiaro is not famous and doesn’t have much business. Industry people analyzed Giugiaro expects its cooperation with Yang Rong could help it open the U.S. market. Relevant sources at Hybrid Kinetic Motors also revealed that a real vehicle SUV particularly designed for Kinetic by another European car companies has arrived in Alabama, nevertheless, considering the agreement with Giugiaro, the car didn’t show on the press conference site. (Translator: Qinghua Wade)

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