Visionary Vehicles awards contract to DAS

Visionary Vehicles awards contract to DAS

   Visionary Vehicles has awarded Distribution and Auto Service (DAS) a contract to handle inland logistics and transportation of its imported Chinese cars to dealerships in North America.

   Visionary Vehicles plans to begin importing an annual volume of 250,000 vehicles made by Chery Automobile Co. in Wuhu, China from mid-2007. DAS will be responsible for receipt of the vehicles at the North American port of entry, as well as vehicle preparation and inspection, and finally distribution to Visionary Vehicles’ North American dealership network.

   Visionary Vehicles and Chery plan to eventually sell 2 million units in North America. The first 1 million units are to be manufactured at Chery’s factory in Wuhu, with the next 1 million units made at a new joint Visionary Vehicles and Chery facility to be built in the United States.

   Wilmington, Calif.-based DAS was acquired in April by Wallenius Wilhelmsen and Annacis Auto Terminals from Nissan North America Inc. for an undisclosed amount. DAS has 1,200 employees and handles 1.6 million vehicles annually.