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Zhongtai Automobile enters the American market! Zhongtai's US subsidiary confirmed that its compact SUV T600 will be sold in the US market as the brand's first model.

Zhongtai auto executives also revealed that the T600 will enter the US market as early as the end of 2020 at the earliest.

The news of Zhongtai's entry into the American market began to spread at the beginning of 2018, until February 7, 2018, Zhongtai Motors formally signed a strategic cooperation agreement with American car seller Ham, not only as Zhongtai's seller in the United States, but also put forward certification testing and improvement suggestions to Zhongtai Automobile to meet the requirements of US regulations and market demand.

Bob Pradzinski, senior vice president of sales at Ham, said the T600 was chosen as the first model because "the size and price of this car are really at the core of market competition." The price of the T600 on sale in the United States has not yet been announced, but the news shows that the US price of the car is at least 20% cheaper than other brands of the same class, and adopts a "non-bargaining / one-mouthed price" sales strategy.

Zhongtai's other medium-sized SUV and sedans will follow the T600 to the United States, but Zhongtai did not provide specific sales time and details of these vehicles. But Ham says the next generation of the T700 will be launched in the first quarter of 2022.

The T600 sold in the United States will be a new generation of models, and Zhongtai showed the new T600 during the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show. The T600 will be equipped with a four-cylinder in-line 1.6-liter turbocharged engine and a six-speed automatic transmission. Zhongtai said that as the certification work of the T600 is in progress, there is no specific specification information that can be announced.

In January, Zhongtai signed contracts with 19 US dealers, paving the way for the launch of the first model in the United States. However, the 19 US dealers signed up are not exclusive stores, but open up additional space in existing stores involving Ford, Lincoln, Volvo, Buick, Hyundai and Subaru. At the beginning of May, Bob Pradzinski, vice president of US sales of Zhongtai, said that more than 80 dealers have been planned in the US market, which will be expanded to 300 when the T600 goes public.

In addition, many Chinese brands are targeting opportunities in the US market, including GAC MOTOR, Great Wall and Geely. GAC made its debut at the Detroit auto show in January 2015 and spent more than three years studying relevant laws and regulations in North America, but the plan was further postponed as the Sino-US trade war began. Zeng Qinghong, chairman of GAC GROUP, revealed that Chuanqi will reconsider the plan only when the United States reduces tariffs. Wei Jianjun, chairman of the Great Wall, said bluntly that if independent brands do not take the road of internationalization, they will die in China.

Back to reality, Zhongtai's reputation and brand reputation in China is not good. In the early years, because of the popularity of fake "Porsche" SR9 models across the country, it not only made headlines at home, but also caused a sensation abroad. Zhongtai automobile brand became famous, and even became synonymous with independent brand shanzhai. As for Zhongtai's design department, it was also jokingly called "ruler department" by netizens. After the sales volume suffered a sharp drop, Zhongtai learned that the shanzhai road was not sustainable, so it embarked on the road of rectifying its name, began to publicize the original design in a high profile, and bought big-name designers with heavy money.

Former SAIC European Design Director Anthony Williams-Kenny (Anthony) and former Volkswagen lead designer Martin Kropp (Martin Klop) have joined Zhongtai. Zhongtai intends to open the way to rectify its name through this move.

Brand, quality, word of mouth, product power, Zhongtai is still insufficient, in the auto consumer market is more mature in the United States, will there be American consumers to recognize the Zhongtai brand?

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