Chery Automobile, which makes the popular QQ brand car, is considering calls by Italian carmaker Fiat Auto to expand their existing co-operation.
Fiat president Sergio Marchionne 'has approached us for deeper co-operation in the future. He also showed an inclination to set up a joint venture, but we have not yet expressed our intentions,' Chery spokesman Wang Wei said.
Fiat and Chery signed an engine-production agreement in October last year under which the mainland company would supply engines for Fiat cars worldwide.
Chery, the mainland's fourth-largest passenger vehicle maker, is expected to supply Fiat with 100,000 engines annually.
Chery will register a new subsidiary to team up with Fiat in an attempt to remain an independent brand, the China Daily reported yesterday,
Fiat, which has had a joint venture with Nanjing Automobile since 1999, is looking to expand beyond that partnership as it struggles to take a significant mainland market share.