PARIS, April 12 (Reuters) – Chery is looking to expand car production in Europe through partnerships with other automakers allowing it to use existing factories, top executives at the Chinese carmaker said at an event in Paris.
“The company is looking for other production capacities in Europe,” Lionel French Keogh, chief commercial officer for France for Chery Automobile , told Reuters on the sidelines of a launch event for the automaker’s Omoda and Jaecoo brands in France held late on Friday.
Chery Chairman Yin Tongyue told journalists the company prefers to use existing production capacity instead of investing heavily in a new assembly plant.
“These processes require time and dedication but mainly setting up the right local partnerships,” Yin said. “I really hope we will have news to share with you in the coming months.”
Yin declined to comment on which automakers it is holding talks with or how many countries it is looking at. But he did say France is on the list of potential locations.
Like Chinese rival BYD, Chery has seen rapid growth since launching sales in Europe in 2023. Last year its European sales grew almost six-fold to 120,147 vehicles from 17,035 in 2024, according to data from auto consultancy Dataforce.
A slew of Chinese brands have already launched in Europe, with more planning to launch sales on the continent.
Chery, China’s largest car exporter, has already invested through a joint venture with Ebro in a former Nissan assembly plant in Barcelona nL6N40S0Q1. The automaker aims to reach production of 200,000 units annually in that plant by 2029.
But that will not be enough to meet demand for the company’s cars, nor to adapt to European Union tariffs on Chinese EVs or meet European requirements for local content in cars, executives said.
France is one of the last major European car markets where Chery is launching its Jaecoo and Omoda models. The company will also launch a model from its Chery brand in the fourth quarter and may also launch a small electric SUV in France by the end of the year, executives said.
The automaker recently announced it will launch its Lepas brand in Europe.
Last year, Chery’s global sales grew almost 7% to 2.8 million vehicles. Overseas markets outside China accounted for over 47% of sales.
(Reporting by Gilles GuillaumeEditing by Keith Weir)
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