Chery is expanding its development center in Raunheim

In a location not far from Frankfurt Airport, Chery wants to handle development activities for new products and country-specific solutions. (Image: Chery)

By expanding the R&D center in Raunheim am Main, Chery wants to put more emphasis on the European operations of what it says is China’s biggest car seller. The development center in Raunheim, which opened in 2018, has become one of the most popular in the last 5 years. Key R&D and design areas within the global development network and group structure from China’s Anhui province.

“We plan to double the number of employees in the next 12 months”explains Jochen Tüting, Managing Director of Chery Europe GmbH. “Along with the launch of our brands Omoda and Jaecoo in nine major European markets and other smaller ones, we want to increase our R&D staff to 120 employees by the end of 2024.”

In a location not far from Frankfurt Airport, Chery handles the development of new products and country-specific solutions. This includes design development, simulation and testing as well as hardware and mechanical design of the product. Main experts also take on project management tasks in various business areas within the Chery Group. “New things are also being created here that will not find their way to Europe”explains Tüting, giving the example of the Advanced Design Studio, which provides creative input to almost all corporate brands in the world.

The planned expansion of the car company in Raunheim, which plans to launch a total of 8 new models in Europe in the next 24 months, includes extended testing procedures. According to Chery, technical integration and adaptation for the European market should take place in real time digitally using the Raunheim R&D Center as an internal development interface. Greater research and development capabilities should also speed up design and development, and Chery also wants to strengthen cooperation with regional suppliers and development cooperation.

Chery wants to gradually introduce the smaller competition SUV Omoda 5 in the most important markets in Europe from the beginning of 2024, before the off-road SUV Jaecoo 7 on the same platform to follow shortly after. Chery says it plans to launch the Omoda 5 in Germany with a 1.6-liter combustion engine for “under 30,000 euros” on the one hand and as a battery-electric EV on the other by the summer of 2024. Thus, the expansion of the development center near the Main is an important step for Chery as a volume manufacturer and underlines the car company’s determination to create modern cars for the European market, emphasizes Tüting.