SAO PAULO // The Chinese car manufacturer Chery Automobiles has announced plans to open a US$700 million (Dh2.6 billion) factory in Brazil and will make a local version of its S18. Chery expects to open its first Brazilian plant by 2013, according to insideline.com. A year ago, Chery announced plans to start marketing its Tiggo crossover vehicle in the South American country and announced then it was planning to construct a factory in Brazil. The decision for the location of the new plant will be made later this year, according to the Brazilian website ig.com. S18 is the development code name for a small hatchback that is built and sold in China as the Chery Riich M1. The Riich sub-brand and the M1 were shown for the first time at last year's Shanghai auto show. Chery is also planning to build an electric version of the M1. Prices for the M1 in China start at just more than US$6,000 (Dh22,037). Chery will offer the S18/M1 and other vehicles with flex-fuel technology, to take advantage of incentives that back the production and sale of ethanol and other biofuels in the country.