Chinese auto maker Chery Automobile Co. said on February 18 it has signed a deal to develop an aircraft engine for Austria's Austro Engine and China's CETC Wuhu Diamond Aircraft Engine.

The engine will replace Austro Engine's current model on light aircraft DA40 and Da42 made by Austria's Diamond Aircraft and its Chinese partner, CETC Wuhu Diamond Aircraft, said Jin Gebo, Chery's assistant general manager.

The main parts will be produced in Chery's factories in Wuhu, Anhui Province, where it is headquartered, and the engines will also be assembled there, said Jin.

As a major auto maker in China, Chery has developed and produced more than 20 car engines.

It has exported more than 300,000 engines to customers in countries including the United States, Italy and Japan.

Chery sold 550,100 vehicles last year, up 8.3 percent year on year. It remained the country's largest auto exporter for the 13th consecutive year with sales of 87,000 vehicles.

(Xinhua News Agency February 18, 2016)