Sachs prepares to put the shine back on tarnished Brilliance

Chinese car maker Brilliance seemed to be getting its European launch right – but then came a disastrous independent crash test carried out in Germany, in which the company’s BS6 large saloon performed woefully.

But now the company is bouncing back – and European CEO Hans-Ulrich Sachs believes the company’s European roll-out is back on track. Brilliance is preparing both the BS6 and smaller BS4 for new, official crash tests under EuroNCAP supervision – and Sachs is confident the cars will achieve “at least three stars” this time around, which he hopes will put memories of last year’s ADAC test to rest.

Certainly, quality levels are improving, judging by the build quality of the cars on show. The crash test debacle was unfortunate for Brilliance, which until then had been getting things right – decent looking cars, sold through an experienced European distributor. Sachs has a strong track record – he launched Hyundai in Germany and has worked as a both a dealer group boss and a product manager for Volkswagen.

He said Brilliance was learning fast. “It took Hyundai four or five years to make the same improvements that Brilliance has made in just one year,” he said. Sachs will put BS6 and BS4 – and maybe the smart BC3 coupe – through Euro NCAP-supervised crash tests in June or July. In the meantime, he’s been busy signing up distributors, and now 16 European countries are gearing up to sell the cars.

The UK will still have to wait, as right-hand drive versions are still some way off – after 2010 at the earliest. Mainland Europe will get two additional models – the BS2 Golf-sized hatchback, and a wagon version of the BS4 – by early 2009.