SAIC close to split with Chery

mini-car design from a unit of General Motors. SAIC is GM's main China joint venture partner in a rapidly expanding market, reported the Financial Times. The sale could open the way for legal action against Chery, whose vehicle looks similar to a GM mini car called the Matiz, produced by the South Korean-based GM Daewoo Automotive and Technology.

Chery denied it stole the design and defended the practice of absorbing the 'good features' of rival cars during a company's development phase. Chery, founded in 1997 and majority-owned by the Anhui government, sold about 50,000 vehicles last year.