Sep. 12--Analysts say it's only a matter of time before Chinese automakers locate operations in the United States.

And officials in Indiana are trying to make sure the state is at the top of the site selection list.

Chinese automaker Geely Group has been courted twice in three years by Indiana trade delegations and each time expressed interest in the state, most recently in a meeting this week with Gov. Mitch Daniels.

Officials at Geely, which is attempting to buy Volvo from Ford, showed specific interest in the state, as did auto-parts maker Wanxiang Group and about eight suppliers, Daniels said in a telephone interview from China. The eight were not identified.

He led a trade group to Asia Sept. 5 in search of jobs and investments for Indiana. The delegation flew Thursday night from China to Japan on the final leg of its mission.

"Some of them seem interested in first establishing logistics and distribution, and some of them production facilities," Daniels said, noting he visited with dozens of business officials at receptions and company tours in China.

Geely responded positively in 2006 when a trade group from Columbus recruited the automaker to the city southeast of Indianapolis. At the time, Geely was considering opening a U.S. assembly plant by 2010 at the earliest.

Geely is also looking at bringing out electric cars as Indiana tries to position itself as a hotbed for the electric drivetrain technology.

Daniels pointed out that Geely made no commitment to visit Indiana, but that the officials from the company were well-versed in information about the state and receptive to discussing the idea of a U.S. operation.

Geely Group was started in 1986 as a refrigerator maker, branched into scooters and motorcycles, and made its first car in 1998. By 2004, it was selling 94,000 autos a year, with plans to reach the 1 million mark by 2010, reports the online site China Car Forums.

Geely founder Li Shufu handed the chief executive position in 2006 to Yue Guisheng, a split intended to satisfy Hong Kong stock exchange rules. Li, 46, has risen like many other industrialists in China, mixing technical skills with affiliation with the dominant Communist Party.

He is a graduate of an engineering college and has been a deputy to the Taizhou City People's Congress and a member of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party.

In a survey of smaller businesses, Forbes magazine this week ranked Geely Group as the 14th most profitable company in Asia, with income of $128 million last year on revenue of $622 million. The survey was conducted among companies with annual sales of less than $1 billion.

Geely also entered the business of making London's famed black cabs by recently acquiring 23 percent of Manganese Bronze, parent firm of LTI Vehicles, a cab manufacturer.

Ford acquired Swedish automaker Volvo in the 1990s and is now in need of cash and talking to a range of companies about an acquisition. Geely is one of a number of Chinese automakers considering making a bid for the upscale brand.

Separately, Volvo is road-testing electric cars in Europe equipped with lithium-ion batteries produced in Indianapolis by EnerDel. The high-tech battery maker is trying to secure high-volume production contracts with Volvo and other automakers.

Call Star reporter Ted Evanoff at (317) 444-6019

To see more of the Indianapolis Star or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.indystar.com/.

Copyright (c) 2009, The Indianapolis Star

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

<< -- 09/14/2009>>