Chery’s First Chinese Car Factory in Europe: Launching Electric Vehicle Production in Barcelona

Chery, a leading Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, is set to sign an agreement this Friday with EV Motors to commence production at the former Nissan factory in Barcelona. The move marks Chery’s first manufacturing venture in Europe, highlighting the company’s plans to expand across the continent.

The signing ceremony will take place in Barcelona’s Zona Franca, where the old Nissan facilities are located. High-profile attendees will include Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Pere Aragonès, and the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu. These figures represent the public administrations that played pivotal roles in facilitating Chery’s establishment in Spain.

The partnership follows months of negotiations between EV Motors, a Spanish electric vehicle firm and part of the Ebro group, and Chery Automobile. Chery, a subsidiary of the Chery Group, has been China’s leading car exporter for over two decades. In 2023, Chery’s exports surged to 937,148 units, doubling from the previous year. The company boasts a global user base exceeding 13 million, with over 3.35 million users outside China.

This initiative is poised to reindustrialize the site abandoned by Nissan in late 2021. The closure of the Nissan plant resulted in over 2,500 job losses, significantly impacting the local supplier network and distribution chain. Chery’s project plans initially to reemploy 150 former plant workers who were left unemployed. As production scales up, further hires are anticipated, potentially reaching a workforce of around a thousand.

In collaboration with Ebro, Chery will initially manufacture the Omoda 5 model at the Barcelona facility. By the end of the year, the partnership plans to produce vehicles under the Spanish brand, utilizing licenses from former Nissan models, including an electric version of a pickup truck. This joint venture aims to leverage the strategic location of the Zona Franca site, near Barcelona’s airport and port, covering approximately 300,000 square meters.

Omoda’s choice of Spain as its gateway into Europe reflects its strategy to expand throughout the continent by establishing a network of official dealerships, thus securing a significant foothold in the European market. The Omoda 5, a dynamic and compact SUV, features a 1.6 TGDI four-cylinder thermal propulsion system delivering 185 horsepower, paired with a 7-speed DCT automatic transmission. Through Omoda, Chery intends to broaden its European presence, exploring further expansion via maritime and potentially rail transport.