Changan Auto Group vice president Wu Xuesong and general manager Yang Qing of Changan's global sales company flew to the U.S. yesterday to attend the inauguration ceremony of Tiger Truck's assembly plant in Poteau city, Oklahoma for making Changan-designed trucks, reported China Youth Daily today.
The plant is reportedly the first U.S.-based assembly facility to turn out vehicles with a Chinese heritage. A series of commercial vehicles carrying the Changan Auto badge will be manufactured in this newly-built American plant, and the privately-held Tiger Truck company will become the first "American manufacturer of Chinese vehicles."

At an industry event earlier this week, Yang Qing said that Changan Auto has cooperated for two years with Tiger Truck, the exclusive importer and distributor in the U.S. for Changan vehicles. The initial form of their partnership included the transfer of Changan Auto's brand and technology to Tiger Truck for assembling the CKD (completed knocked down). And now they have started to speed up the local production of Changan trucks in the U.S.

Changan Auto, also a Chinese partner of Suzuki, Ford, and Mazda, are expected to get its proceeds from this assembly plant (with a yearly capacity of 7,500 units) located in Poteau city, Oklahoma by providing auto parts and technical know-how for making Changan's re-designed commercial vehicles, mostly of crossover models. These U.S.-made Chinese trucks will be sold for off-road use in college campuses, construction sites, industrial parks and on farms.

"I couldn't be more pleased with our long-standing partnership with Changan (Auto) that leads to this historic first (U.S. maker of Chinese vehicles)," said Mike Ward, founder and chief executive officer of the US company. Tiger Truck is believed to be learning from its Chinese partner how to make quality mini vehicles at low costs.