Israel Corp is definitely not pulling out of the Qoros joint car venture with China’s automaker Chery. This in direct contrast to what has recently been reported in the Chinese media.
In a letter released to The Wall Street Journal Idan Ofer, Israel Corp’s controlling shareholder, wrote that he is, “looking forward to competing all over the planet with established OEMS [original equipment manufacturers].” And that he has “no doubt that we will grow this company [Qoros] to be a respected, profitable OEM, starting in China, our home market.”
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Israel Corporation has invested $600 million in Qoros since the latter was founded. The rumors of a pull out came as a result of Qoros posting second quarter losses of $78 million for a total of $137 million in the red for the first half of 2014. The company’s sales so far this year have been much lower than experts had anticipated.
Qoros Automotive Co. Ltd. was founded in 2007. The company asserts that it develops vehicles that are differentiated in their design, safety, and connected services and that exhibit international standards of quality.
The company is headquartered in China, with an operational center in Shanghai (China), offices in Munich (Germany) and Graz (Austria). Qoros’ production facility is in Changshu, a region of high importance for China’s rapidly growing automobile industry.
It is a 50-50 joint venture between the Chinese auto maker Chery Automobile Co. and Israel Corp.
Israel Corp is about to split into two firms, one will retain the name and will concentrate on chemicals. The other is to be named Kennon Holdings and that new company will retain Qoros.
