Selection Near

Geely U.S.A. Inc., the North American unit of China's Geely Automobile Co., has narrowed its search for a headquarters' site to the Detroit-area or southeastern U.S.

The auto maker is considering locations between Memphis and Atlanta, as it expects to have a port of entry in either Florida or Georgia. A decision on the port location should come in the next 30-60 days, John Harmer, vice president and chief operating officer for Geely in the U.S., tells Ward's.

Meanwhile, Harmer anticipates hiring eight employees in the next several months in preparation for its early 2009 entry into the market here.

All eight have “significant” previous auto industry experience, either working for the U.S. Big Three or, in the case of one person, Nissan North America Inc., he says.

Three of the candidates have engineering backgrounds, including prior experience with meeting U.S. safety standards, he says. The others have experience in environmental compliance and dealerships.

He also says Geely has selected its Ningbao plant to be the sole source of vehicles for the U.S. market. The plant will receive a brick-and-mortar expansion, as Geely expects to sell 25,000 units in 2009, its first year in the U.S. market, and 100,000 vehicles annually after five years.

Geely initially plans to export its small CK sedan, as well as the Beauty Leopard roadster, to the U.S. from China. The CK's retail price will be $10,000.

The CK will boast more content from U.S.-based suppliers than the Chinese-market version because of the need to have U.S.-certified components, Harmer says.