Brilliance FRV - 2008 Beijing Auto Show Preview

The newest model from China's Brilliance Automotive, the compact FRV hatchback, rolled off the assembly this week and will make its public debut later this month at the 2008 Beijing Auto Show.

The FRV was first unveiled as a concept at last year's Shanghai auto show. Brilliance reportedly spent $140 million to develop the car under the internal code name A1 and has constructed a $90 million assembly line at its manufacturing facility here in Manchuria to build it. Initial annual capacity is 100,000 units, which could make the FRV the company's best-selling model.

Prices in China will start at less than $10,000. The FRV will be marketed in Europe in late 2008 or early 2009, rebadged as the Brilliance BS2.

Power is supplied by a 106-horsepower 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. The FRV measures about 165 inches long overall, about a foot longer than a Chevrolet Aveo 5.

What this means to you: The FRV could be part of the product portfolio that Brilliance hopes eventually to bring to North America.

© Source: edmunds
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