The Chinese are now really reaching Europe. And we think about car names

While the Italian government is wasting no time angering Alfa Romeo by calling the Milan a car built in Poland, other European countries are taking notice and immediately seizing the huge production potential due to the arrival of Chinese manufacturers. The same thing happened years ago to the Japanese and now history is repeating itself.

Yes, because the big Chery has announced the opening of its first European factory, in Spain, specifically in the old Nissan site in Barcelona, ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​a The role of the Spanish government in this matter was very important and the Minister of Industry Jordi Hereu personally handled the message from Chery, in front of the representatives of the Catalan regional government.

In short, the road is clear and we are only at the beginning because – it should be noted – Chery is the second Chinese manufacturer to establish itself in Europe, after BYD formalized the agreement last February for the construction of its first European factory in Hungary. .

Now the ball is in the hands of Dongfeng Motor Group which is negotiating with various countries – according to Bloomberg also with Italy – for an agreement on the production of 100,000 cars. We’ll see how it ends, but the history of Chery and the Spanish government teaches a lot: the former Nissan site in Barcelona, ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ has been closed for a while (closed in December 2021) and it was also torn to pieces because parts of this industrial infrastructure was sold to motorcycle manufacturer Silence and EV Motors. However, the local authorities, along with EV Motors, were trying to attract another investor for the full launch of the site.

A similar story, in short, to that of the large Italian production plants that can now be saved by other Chinese manufacturers because the very young Chery (a state-owned company founded in 1997) that now produces two million cars a year has opened on the street.

In fact, let’s not forget that Chery’s decision to open a factory in Europe comes at a time of tension between Beijing and Brussels. At the beginning of April, the European Union had launched an investigation into public subsidies given by the Chinese authorities to electric cars, accusing China of distorting competition. This is why opening factories in Europe – to the giants of the Great Wall country – will be a sure solution. And this is why all European countries have entered into important negotiations with Chinese companies. All but one, maybe too busy reading the names of Italian cars.