Chery Fengyun History

Production of the Fengyun began in December 1999, making it Chery's first vehicle. The car was closely based on the SEAT Toledo Mk1 (itself derived from the Volkswagen Golf Mk2 platform) and used an engine production line acquired from Ford Dagenham.

The launch was legally fraught: Chery was not permitted to sell the car outside Anhui province until 2001, when it finally obtained a national passenger-car production license. Despite its derivative origins, the Fengyun sold nearly 30,000 units and established Chery as a viable independent manufacturer.

Chinese production ended in 2006 as the Fengyun 2 and newer models took over. The original Fengyun is historically significant as the spark that launched one of China's most prolific export automakers.