Automotive News - February 11, 2008 - (Page 46) 46 • FEBRUARY 11, 2008 S TA R T U P TA R G E T S N O R T H A M E R I C A Will Chamco deliver the goods? Questions swirl around distributor’s plans to sell Chinese-made trucks in the United States next year Diana T. Kurylko dkurylko@crain.com PARSIPPANY, N.J. — With the rollout of its Chinese-made trucks only a year away, Chamco — a partnership formed to import vehicles for U.S. dealers — faces troubling questions about its ability to deliver the vehicles. China America Cooperative Automotive Inc., or Chamco, says it will begin selling a Chinese-made pickup and SUV next year — plus a car and crossover later — through a network of 75 dealers. The company has displayed its vehicles at the Detroit auto show. The SUV is a mid-sized five-passenger vehicle about as long as a Ford Explorer, while the pickup is the size of a Ford Ranger. Company executives brag that these vehicles will be priced so low that customers will flock to dealerships. But questions remain about Chamco’s thin capitalization, retail financing, murky corporate structure, abortive plans for a Mexican assembly plant and its timetable for vehicle imports (see story, Page 48). For the second time, Chamco has delayed its launch date for sales, and has scrapped plans to display production vehicles at the New York auto show in March. The company projects hefty North American sales within four years even though its Chinese partner, Hebei Zhongxing Automobile Co., sold only 36,800 vehicles last year. It’s unclear whether the automaker can meet U.S. safety and emissions standards in time for the launch. Chamco has temporarily abandoned efforts to build its trucks in Mexico. The company blamed the Mexican government for not living up to undisclosed promises to help it build a $300 million assembly plant near Tijuana. Corporate executives are vague about the identities of the company’s founding partners and its capitalization. Despite all this, Chamco Chairman Bill Pollack is moving ahead with plans to recruit an additional 75 dealers. Chamco originally required dealers to invest $300,000 in the company but is no longer making the investment mandatory. “We are clearly making progress on all fronts,” Pollack said. “I like where we are headed.” ALFREDO MILLAN Chamco Chairman Bill Pollack is moving forward with plans to recruit more dealers and sell China-made Grand Tiger pickups and Landmark SUVs in North America. The Grand Tiger pickup, left, and the Landmark SUV are described as having the style, ride and handling of 1980s-era Toyotas. onship medals in world bridge tournaments. Pollack is chatty, friendly and keeps his cool, even with tough questions. And he is not afraid to poke fun at himself. During a flight last month from New Jersey to Detroit, Pollack laughed as he showed off a Rolex knockoff he had just purchased in China. During several interviews with Automotive News, Pollack offered some details about the company, but was unwilling or unable to offer some basic information. Pollack says Chamco’s 13 partners put up most of the cash to launch the company, which was incorporated in January 2006. He identified only one of the founding partners: Dennis Chen, a former merchant banker who lives in New York. Chen was born in China and understands that country’s business environment, Pollack says. Chen helped negotiate the contract Chamco signed with Hebei Zhongxing on Jan. 26, 2006. Pollack says he wants to debunk “the prevailing wisdom that you need $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion to start a new car company.” The idea is to find partners to handle activities such as vehicle assembly, information technology, marketing, transportation and logistics. He says he has formed a solid executive team to oversee these activities. Corporate officers include Mario Ferla, the former president of Case IH, Fiat S.p.A.’s farm equipment company; Thomas Del Franco, a former COO of Audi of America; and Steve Saleen, who owned a company that manufactured sports cars such as the Ford GT. Branding will be handled by Jerry Della Femina, the advertising executive whose agency was responsible for a host of campaigns, including Joe Isuzu and the singing cat Meow Mix campaign. But Pollack’s lineup of executives and his let’s-run-lean business philosophy do not dispel lingering questions about his Chinese partner and its trucks. Chamco’s public face Pollack, a 56-year-old former computer executive, is Chamco’s public face. The company’s founding partners recruited him in April 2006, just a few months after Chamco was formed. As corporate executives go, Pollack is not a pretentious fellow. His headquarters in Parsippany, N.J., is a nondescript office building that doesn’t even have a Chamco sign out front. Pollack, a former general manager at Bell Laboratories, has degrees in mathematics and computer science from Columbia University. Pollack’s hobby is bridge, and he is passionate about it. making progress on all fronts. I like where we are headed. “ We are clearly BILL POLLACK Chamco ” Big ambitions Hebei Zhongxing is a small company with big ambitions. The company plans to export the Landmark SUV and Grand Tiger pickup to the United States, where Chamco will market them under different names. see CHAMCO, Page 48 He and a partner won the Vanderbilt Cup, a prestigious national championship. Pollack and his wife, Rozanne, won three national mixed championships in the National Mixed Teams as part of the American Contract Bridge League. Pollack says he has won three world champi-
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