The Chinese Have Landed In Brazil! Can They Samba?

Chinese cars were rumored of having arrived a long time ago here in Brazil. They’ve been talked about for years. Dealerships were rumored to be opening up right and left. Like in other markets, it was a Chinese chimera. Granted, you could spot a smattering of vans, or maybe a light delivery truck, parked or puttering along here in Brazil, but again, when you took a longer look, more often than not, you’d see that what you thought were the long-rumored Chinese cars was actually a Hyundai or Kia product, mistake as a Chinese. You know, those Asians, they all look alike.

They are here now. By God, I have proof! I swear that when I saw it I was so shocked I took a picture.

Look behind the steel curtain. Can you identify the car on the right? For Brazilians, identifying the car on the left is easy. Maybe it’s a little difficult for our American friends. The one on the left though is a different story. Would our own Bertel Schmitt see it? [There is a magnifying function – ED]

That’s right. It’s Chinese. It’s a Chery. A Chery Cielo, in fact. Nice to meet you. Had never seen you from this butt angle. Think you look alright, contemporary. I see now that Pininfarina’s work on you was not in vain. Sorry I’m so surprised, but you don’t look so Chinese. And you’ve found a nice house, and have a nice garage mate. Who drives you? The house looks like it belongs to a doctor/engineer/lawyer. It’s definitely not some yahoo’s abode. So, what have you got to seduce a supposedly well-informed, not to mention well-heeled, daddy?

Well according to Brazilian enthusiast site bestcars.com.br, first and foremost, it’s price. Here, the Chery Cielo retails for Brazilian R$41,900 (R$1.80=US$1) or US$23,270. That’s the price of top-of-the-line subcompacts (to you Americans) or compacts (for Brazilian and European customers) like Fiat Palios and Sienas, VW Gols and Voyages, Chevy Corsas and Ford Fiestas. Or a little less than compact (again to you Americans, for us Brazilian and to Europeans the following are medium-compact-sized cars) Chevy Astras, Ford Focuses, VW Golfs and Fiat Stilos. Or supposedly premium compacts like Fiat Puntos or VeeDub’s Polo.

In terms of size, the Cielo, lands in right in the middle. The Cielo is bigger than the smaller cars, but not as big as the larger ones. As to style, as mentioned above, the Cielo has a you-can’t-quite-put-your-finger-on-it Euro vibe. But it’s very subdued. Elements seem to be borrowed from different Euro-brands. Like the VW snout, or the Audi-esque backlights. Inside, the blandness is greater. The radio buttons particularly look and feel like they were taken from a playmobil. Not good, but again, in this market, not that bad either.

On the dynamic front, Brazilian website bestcars.com.br says that there are problems. The car is just too heavy (1,375kg in sedan form) for its 1.6L engine. The engine produces a healthy 119 hp and is made jointly by Chery and the Austrian engineering company AVL. Nonetheless, not enough for the heft. The Cielo feels slow. Is this evidence of sloppy engineering? Or is that my preconceptions talking? So, I’d imagine performance is not the reason why the car behind the curtain was bought.

The Cielo is not only heavy, it is heavily loaded. Counter-intuitive for what we expect from a supposedly frugal Chinese car. According to Brazilian site webmotors.com.br, there is power steering, power windows, side mirrors, A/C, radio, ABS and some other goodies that much too often must be bought as pricey extras with other competitors.

A similar car comes to mind. The Renault Logan costs about the same in top-of-the-line form. And is similarly equipped. And is bigger inside than the Cielo, and arguably better finished. The Logan performs better as it weighs just 1.040kg, according to vrum.com.br As evidenced by the other car in the garage, the Cielo owner is not Renault-adverse. So why?

That will be the question faced by every potential Chinese car buyer in Brazil. There will be different answers, but as evidenced by this car, the Chinese are not coming here based on price alone. I think what motivated our friend, the first ever Brazilian Chinese/Chery owner I’ve ever seen, is a mix of price, style and content. Whether he’ll see any of his money back come resale time remains to be seen. Whether he’ll get good service during the life of his car is an open question, depending on the long term success of the Chery. One thing must be said: Behind that steel fence lives one courageous guy.