Automotive News Europe — 2024-03-13
Automotive Industry
Chery could refurbish an existing plant in Italy or build a new one, but is also assessing other options, including a former Nissan plant in Barcelona.
The Italian government is holding talks with the Chinese automaker Chery as part of efforts to attract another major automaker to the country in addition to Stellantis, two sources told Reuters.
Rome wants to raise Italy's national car production to 1.3 m vehicles a year from below 800,000 in 2023 and is already in discussion with Stellantis -- the country's sole major automaker -- to increase the group's output to 1 m units annually by the end of this decade, a total it last hit in 2017.
Industry Minister Adolfo Urso has said Italy wants a second manufacturer to add around 300,000 vehicles to national output.
Chinese automakers including Chery's rivals BYD and MG Motor are targeting Europe with their EVs that often have better driving ranges and software technology than cars from European legacy manufacturers.
The Chinese companies are looking at local production as the European Union considers whether to impose higher tariffs on auto imports from China.
BYD aims to reach a 5% share of electric car sales in Europe and is building a car plant in Hungary. The automaker hopes to begin production before 2026, its Europe CEO, Michael Shu, told Automotive News Europe.
Stellantis is considering building up to 150,000 low-cost EVs a year in Italy from its Chinese partner, Leapmotor, at Fiat's Mirafiori plant in Turin, sources familiar with the matter have told Automotive News Europe.
Italy said to favor Chery
Urso said in February 2024 that Italy held talks with Tesla and with three undisclosed Chinese automakers, whose representatives visited the country in 2023 to assess potential investment opportunities. One of the two sources said Chery was for now the option Rome was "betting on most."
A spokesperson for Italy's Industry Ministry declined to comment.
Chery is launching its Omoda and Jaecoo brands in all major European markets. By the end of 2025, the automaker plans three SUV models for each brand with a mixture of fuel types to serve different parts of Europe. The company is launching its Omoda 5 crossover in Europe in 2024 and plans to start selling the Jaecoo 7 SUV in 2025.
Chery Europe Managing Director Jochen Tueting told Reuters the Chinese automaker expects sales in Europe to be high enough to support a local assembly plant. "We are exploring different possibilities across Europe to look for a potential setup of local manufacturing for the future," Tueting said.
"We're having discussions in several locations across Europe right now," Tueting added, but said nondisclosure agreements prevented him commenting on specific locations.
The sources, one from industry and one from the government, declined to be identified because the talks are confidential.
Spain also an option
The industry source said Chery was considering either refurbishing an existing plant or building a new one in Italy, but was also assessing other options in Europe, including a former Nissan plant in Barcelona.
The government source said that Great Wall Motor was also among the Chinese automakers that were in touch with Rome and visited Italy. Great Wall did not respond to a request for comment.
Those automakers also included BYD, which in December 2023 chose Hungary for its first European car factory.