The Chinese in Chery choose to produce in Spain

On a day when the government emphasizes how China is a strategic partner of Italy, at the same time Rome is recording (for now) a slight decrease in all four wheels. The government has long been looking for Chinese car manufacturers to come and produce in Italy, to compensate for the decline in production in Stellantis, but now Asian manufacturers are looking elsewhere. At least the Chinese automaker Chery Auto is involved which, according to Spanish media, is very close to concluding an agreement to start manufacturing cars in Spain. Thus the Iberian country will be the first to host a Chinese production site in Europe.

According to the Extension, on Thursday 19 April the government of Madrid and the Chinese group can already make official investments that will be supported by public incentives. Chery is expected to start production in Barcelona, ​​​​under the brands Omoda and Jaecoo, and restore the factory that Nissan closed in 2021, a factory with around 1,600 workers. Contract without incentives: Spain will issue two tenders of 1.7 billion aimed at companies applying for loans and subsidies for the production of electric vehicles under the program called Perte. And Chinese investment would fit within this model.

Chery, which is one of the various Chinese car manufacturers that bring low-cost, especially electric cars to Europe, was one of the entities that the Italian government, especially the Minister of Trade and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso, was negotiating : an experiment . is to attract another major car manufacturer to Italy, also considering the increasingly tense relationship with the Stellantis group, which is less and less involved in the country. Despite the potential investment now in Spain, Chery is still in contact with Italian authorities, an industry source who asked not to be named told Reuters, but the Chinese company has received little comment from Italy. On the other hand, it is said that Urso also has other possible interlopers on his side. It’s no secret that there are several Asian houses that could land in the Bel Paese, with all due respect to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. In recent months, Urso has repeatedly said that negotiations are ongoing with many foreign car manufacturers, including Geely, MG Great, Wall Motors, Toyota and Tesla.

The choice of Chery strengthens the position of Spain, which in recent years has risen to the top of the list of countries that produce cars in Europe.

Last year the factories of the Iberian country burned 2.4 million cars, three times that of Italy and twice that of France.