The Chinese auto industry already appears to have toppled Japan as the country exporting the most cars, shifting over a million cars to Russia and Mexico each year and Europe is next on the hit list. However, its assault on the European market isn’t only coming from outside, but inside the continent.
Chery is considering building a pair of plants, one in the UK and a second in mainland Europe, that could be operational before the end of this decade, the Financial Times reports. The automaker’s UK boss, Victor Zhang, told the paper that it wanted to emulate the success of Hyundai and Kia, which were virtually unknown in the country before the late 1980s, but which now take nearly 10 percent of UK car sales.
Honda pulled out of the UK in 2022, closing its plant in Swindon due in part to Brexit, and BYD has also ruled out a British plant for the same reason. But the UK’s decision to leave the EU doesn’t seem to phase Chery, which thinks the size of the market – 2 million new cars bought every year – is big enough to warrant a separate factory. The UK plant would build right-hand drive cars for the British and Northern Irish markets – and potentially also send cars to South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, whose drivers also sit on the right – while a second plant in mainland Europe would build left-hand drive cars for the continent.
Related: Chery’s Exeed Brand Is Heading To Europe With ICE, PHEV And EV Models
Chery is due to bring the first of its mass-market Omada-branded cars to the UK this spring, with the Jaecoo premium line arriving a few months later. The company’s models will hit European roads at the same time as the EU is investigating Chinese state subsidies to automakers, but Chery’s exec says we shouldn’t worry about it massively undercutting established rivals.
“I don’t think we are just trying to frighten others with the cheapest price, that is not something we want to do,” Zhang told the FT. “We just want to bring good products with a good brand.”
Instead of offering bargain pricing, Chery aims to snare buyers with generous seven-year vehicle warranties and eight years’ cover for batteries.