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Beijing Jeep Corporation announced today the beginning of production in China of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the flagship of the Jeep brand. Present at the launch ceremony held at the plant were Beijing Municipality Party Standing Committee Member Yang Anjiang, Beijing Vice Mayor Zhang Mao and other dignitaries from the central and municipal governments. The Grand Cherokee will be formally launched in the Chinese market in the next few weeks.

Beijing Jeep Corporation was China’s first automotive joint venture with a foreign partner and it is a well-known off-road vehicle manufacturer in the country. The company has been actively enhancing its competitiveness through strategic restructuring over the past year. Recently, both joint venture partners of Beijing Jeep Corporation - Beijing Automotive Industry (Group) Company (BAIC) and DaimlerChrysler Corporation (DCC), have agreed to continue their cooperation for another 30 years. The production of the Jeep Grand Cherokee in China is the first tangible result of this new accord.

The agreement calls for capital injection, a new management team and the introduction of advanced automotive technology. BJC plans to launch a new model every year, with the Jeep Grand Cherokee taking the lead as the first product in line with Beijing Jeep’s product development strategy. The eye-catching model not only enriches BJC’s product range, but also fills an important previously untapped market segment for high-end SUV products manufactured in China. Furthermore, by offering the Grand Cherokee, BJC shows that it has extended its manufacturing capabilities to offer products with improved quality and technology.

To successfully launch the Grand Cherokee in China and to ensure an international level of quality – ‘same brand, same quality’ – BJC imported an assembly and welding line together with other high-technology manufacturing and testing equipment to ensure world class quality. BJC has already established a sales and service network covering 11 provinces and autonomous regions in North, Northwest, Southwest, Central and South China. By the end of the year, a further expansion to cover 23 provinces is planned. The warranty period of the Grand Cherokee is two years or 50,000 km.