Chinese car giant Chery could be about to take its biggest step yet in the UK – by building cars here.
Nissan and Chery International UK have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding to study the possibility of Nissan building Chery passenger cars at its Sunderland plant from the 2027 financial year.
Under the proposed deal, Nissan would continue to own the factory, with Nissan staff remaining employed by Nissan. Chery cars would potentially be built on Line One at Sunderland, after Nissan said in May that it would look at consolidating its own manufacturing onto Line Two as it explored ways to make better use of the plant.
Massimiliano Messina, Chairperson for Nissan’s AMIEO region, which includes the UK and Europe, said: “This is an important step forward for our operations.. We are looking forward to working with Chery International UK in the coming months to finalise a position that is optimal for both companies.”
The two companies say talks are ongoing and no further details are being made public for now, but it is a big moment for a Chinese car maker that has been making no secret of its UK ambitions.
Nissan’s Sunderland plant has an excellent reputation for being one of the most productive car plants in the UK, at one stage making more cars in the one factory than were being made in the whole of Italy.
Speaking to The Independent at Chery’s recent international business summit in Wuhu, China, chairman Yin Tongyue said the company wanted to go further than simply selling cars in Britain.
“We try to be a citizen of the UK,” he said. “The UK is a very special country. It’s a big country with high technology, a lot of innovation and it’s the finance centre in the world. The UK has a very good relationship with the European Union and United States, so everything we try to be. We strongly prepare to be local: local engineering, local R&D, local finance, local manufacturing.”
That local manufacturing piece now looks a little more real.
Chery has already made a fast start in the UK with Omoda and Jaecoo, and the Jaecoo 7 became Britain’s best-selling new car in March. More models are on the way from both brands, while the Chery group has also launched its own Chery sub-brand brand here too.
And there is plenty more to come. Lepas is due to arrive with a three-SUV line-up, starting with the L8, then followed by the L6 and the smaller L4 E electric car. Yet another Chery brand, called iCaur, is also expected to head to the UK with chunky 4×4-style models, including the compact V23 EV and larger V27 range-extender hybrid.
Then there is Freelander, the reborn British name now being turned into a family of SUVs through Chery’s joint venture with JLR. The first new Freelander, the large plug-in hybrid Freelander 8, has been designed by Land Rover parent company JLR, engineered by Chery and is expected to be built in China.
Chery has also already committed to the UK on vans, with Liverpool set to become the European headquarters for its Delivan commercial vehicle brand.