SHANGHAI, CHINA (AFP) - Independent Chinese carmaker Chery Automobile Co plans to invest US$500 million (S$696.4 million) to build a plant in Turkey, state media reported Thursday.

Chery's plan to establish the factory with its Turkish dealer, Mermerler, is still subject to Turkish government approval, the Beijing News newspaper reported, citing unnamed company sources.

Chery officials were not immediately available for comment.

The new plant would put it in a better position to expand into the European market, the report said. It would produce the Chery A1, a hatchback sedan, which the company thinks would appeal to European and North American drivers, the report added.

Chery was the biggest exporter among Chinese carmakers last year, accounting for more than a quarter of China's car exports. It shipped 135,000 units abroad in 2008, up 12.6 percent from 2007, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The ambitious automaker has already established overseas plants in eight countries: Iran, Egypt, Russia, Uruguay, Thailand, Ukraine, Malaysia and Indonesia, according to its website.