Chery To Open Car Factory In Spain And First In Europe

Chery Omoda 5. (Doc. Chery International)

JAKARTA - Rumors that Chery will open a factory in Europe seem to be coming true soon. The auto brand from China is rumored to have signed a joint venture agreement with EV Motors manufacturers, and the Catalan government to produce cars in the matador country as its first assembly venue in Europe.

Launching Reuters on Thursday, April 18, the company will start production at the end of this year at a former Nissan factory that has been closed since 2021. This factory is considered to be able to contribute to creating around 1,600 jobs there.

The company has been interested in acquiring the former Nissan factory since 2022. This facility will partly be handed over to makers of Spanish electric motorcycles Silence and local groups QEV and EV Motors, which plan to turn it into an electric vehicle hub.

EV Motors itself acquired the company's full control of the hub in March, and has played an important role in talks with Chery.

The Omoda model will be the first car to be assembled at the plant, while EV Motors will start its own vehicles in the fourth quarter of this year. Currently, Omoda 5 is available for purchases in Spain at a price of 29,900 euros (around Rp516.6 million).

"I see this step as confirmation of Chery's real commitment to Europe," said Managing Director of Chery Europe Jochen Tueting.

Meanwhile, the Spanish country has ambitious plans to produce electric and battery vehicles in the country using pandemic aid funds from the European Union launched in 2020. It is known that manufacturers such as Volkswagen and Renault are among the companies that have announced investments since then.

Apart from Spain, Italy is another country that is interested in attracting Chery to produce vehicles locally besides Stellantis. Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso expressed his desire to have a second automotive manufacturer that could increase production to 300,000 vehicles at the national level.

Chery also plans to expand its market coverage in the pizza country by presenting Omoda and Jaecool branded vehicles in the third quarter of this year.