According to Reuters, Spanish company EV Motors and the Catalan regional government said on April 16 that Chery has signed a joint venture agreement with EV Motors to produce cars at a Spanish plant that Nissan closed in 2021 later this year.
Photo: Chery, Nissan’s former factory in Barcelona has been partially handed over to Spanish electric motorcycle maker Silence and local engineering groups QEV and EV Motors, which plans to turn it into an electric vehicle hub.
In March, EV Motors took full control of the plant.
The local government said Chery’s interest in the plant began in 2022 and would be Chery’s first production base in Europe.
EV Motors revealed that it will have a majority stake in the joint venture, while Chery Motor will hold a minority.
Chery will first produce its Omoda-branded cars at the plant, followed by EV Motors to start producing its own cars in the fourth quarter.
“I think this confirms Chery’s clear commitment to the European market and that Chery has stayed,” Chery Europe managing director Jochen Tueting said in a statement.
It is reported that the two sides will hold a formal finalization of the deal in Barcelona on Friday.
Spain, Europe’s second-largest car producer after Germany, launched an ambitious plan in 2020 to use the EU’s recovery relief fund to attract electric car and battery manufacturers to localize production in the country.
Volkswagen and Renault are among the companies that have announced investments in Spain since then.
Spanish authorities did not say whether public assistance had been provided to Chery, but the Catalan government said it would provide funding for training programs for former employees of Nissan’s Spanish plant to facilitate a rapid transition to the Chery project.
“Chery’s arrival in Barcelona will help Catalonia maintain its position as the main car production center,” said Roger Torrent, the region’s top business official, who also recently met with Chery executives in China.
At present, the electric car market, especially in China, is in the midst of a fierce price war, while the European Union is investigating whether Chinese electric car manufacturers benefit from unfair government subsidies.
An important reason for Chery’s localized production in Europe is the threat of trade barriers between Europe and China.
Jochen T ü ting said in an interview with the media last fall: “the European Commission’s investigation into possible punitive tariffs has strengthened our strategy to serve individual local markets.
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