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Brilliance Auto Will Join Chinese Cars at 2009 Detroit Auto Show

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    Brilliance BC3 Picture

    Brilliance BC3 coupe is sold in China as the Zhonghua Kubao. | September 15, 2009

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Brilliance Auto Will Join Chinese Cars at 2009 Detroit Auto Show

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    SHENYANG, China — Brilliance Auto, the local partner of BMW, will be the latest Chinese automaker to display its products at the Detroit auto show. The company, which hopes to begin selling cars late next year in North America, will make its first Detroit appearance in January, joining at least three other Chinese manufacturers at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.

    Brilliance began selling its midsize BS6 sedan in Europe in 2006 and this year added the smaller BS4 sedan. The BS6 and BS4 are marketed in China under the Zhonghua brand; the BS6 is called the Zunchi, and the BS4 is called the Junjie.

    In April, Brilliance unveiled a new Junjie wagon at the 2008 Beijing Auto Show. It also has begun marketing the compact Junjie FRV hatchback, which will be sold in overseas markets as the BS2.

    A fourth model, the BC3, is a sporty coupe known locally as the Kubao.

    While Brilliance (also known by its Chinese name, Huachen) has a joint venture with BMW, assembling 3 Series and 5 Series cars at its Shenyang facility, the automaker also has tapped such European firms as Porsche, Pininfarina and Giugiaro for their engineering and design expertise.

    Brilliance Auto sells about 120,000 Zhonghua-brand passenger cars a year. A subsidiary, Brilliance Jinbei, builds several versions of the Toyota Hiace and Granvia minivans under license.

    What this means to you: The Chinese invasion of the Motor City continues unabated. — Hu Lei, Correspondent

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