WUHU, China: China's Chery Automobile, a fast-growing private company, expects to double its exports in 2007 from last year to 100,000 cars, a senior executive said Wednesday.

The rapid expansion of overseas shipments will help the nimble auto maker towards the ambitious goal of selling one million cars annually by 2010, according to Zhou Biren, the company's vice president.

"In 2007 we will export 100,000 cars," Zhou told reporters during a tour of the company's headquarters in east China's Wuhu city.

"Although these volumes are not big, they help us to establish experience in overseas markets," he said.

Chery, which was established just a decade ago, said its main markets abroad included the former Soviet republics, the Middle East and South America.

"We hope by 2010 to be able to sell one million cars, domestically and overseas," Zhou said.

Zhou confirmed that Chery planned to sell shares to the public, but gave few other details.

"We do have such a plan, but I don't know the exact schedule. We still have to apply to the authorities," said Zhou, adding he did not know if the initial public offering would be in an overseas or a domestic market.

Chery saw its millionth car roll off the assembly line last month, the company said previously.

As a measure of its rapid growth, Chery said it took six years to make the first half million cars and only one and a half for the second.

Chery, based in the eastern province of Anhui, currently has an annual capacity of 400,000 units and expects to add another 250,000-300,000 units after a new plant starts operation in October, according to the statement.

Chery sold 197,923 units in the seven months until July, fourth on the domestic market after FAW-VW and Shanghai VW, two Chinese joint ventures of Germany's Volkswagen AG, and Shanghai GM, a General Motors joint venture. - AFP/ac