China’s Chery nearing deal to manufacture cars in Spain

CHINA’S Chery Auto is nearing a deal to start making cars in Spain, its first manufacturing site in Europe, according to the Spanish government and local company EV Motors that is leading the negotiations.

An agreement for Chery to start manufacturing vehicles in Barcelona is expected after a Spanish delegation held positive talks with the carmaker this week in China, said an EV Motors spokesperson.

The Industry Ministry said in a statement it was confident that an agreement for Chery to start working in Barcelona will be formalised in the coming days.

Chery did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The talks are focused on Chery producing vehicles at the plant that Japanese carmaker Nissan shut down in 2021, helping to recover part of the 1,600 direct jobs lost as a result.

Reuters reported in March that the Italian government was holding talks with Chery as part of efforts to attract another major automaker to the country in addition to the multinational group Stellantis .

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Italy’s Industry Ministry has no information about Chery’s choice of Barcelona for its new plant, a government official said on Tuesday (Apr 9).

Catalonia’s regional government also said on Tuesday that its senior business official will travel to China on Wednesday to meet with Chery executives in what could also signal that an official announcement could come out soon.

Chery is one of several Chinese automakers bringing lower-cost, mostly electric, vehicles to Europe. It began selling cars in Spain earlier this year. REUTERS