Caterham off to China in 2012

Caterham Cars, keepers of the Lotus 7  tradition – has revealed it will be selling a full range of cars in China from 2012 in a  deal with importers  Courtenay Trading International (CTI).

It’s quite an eventful time for car-making minnows Caterham – keepers of the Colin Chapman Flame- with a takeover at Caterham  by Tony Fernades and Team Lotus only just complete, and now the news that Caterham are going to be selling cars in China from 2012.

The takeover by Team Lotus has seen Caterham Cars’ profile on the international stage rise considerably as its logos appear on the Team Lotus F1 cars, which will do its prospects of selling Caterhams around the world no harm at all.

Caterham has now signed an exclusive deal with Chinese importer Courtenay Trading International (CTI) who are aiming to appoint six retailers in key provinces of China over the next twelve months with a modest sales target of 50 cars in the first year.

On offer in China will be all of Caterham’s UK range – Roadsport 120, Superlight 120, Roadsport 175, Superlight R300 and CSR 175 – and Caterham are aiming to kick of 2012 as it means to go on by delivering the first Caterham to China in January.

Although Caterhams have been sold in Japan for years, this is the first time Chinese car buyers have had the chance to buy such an iconic British car. Caterham’s International Business Manager, David Ridley, is understandably bullish about Caterham’s current prospects. He said:

We are engaged in one of the most exciting new chapters in the Caterham Cars story and our entry into the Chinese market is another tangible sign of how Caterham is striving to become a truly global brand.

The beauty of product like Caterham cars is that their USP is, as much as anything, their ‘Britishness’ and their history. That’s what will sell the Caterham to Chinese buyers, and that’s what will mean they have a unique and unassailable position going forward, not just in China but in much of the world’s rising economies.

Dartford to China. Who’d have thought it?