The Chinese automobile group Chery will set up shop in the Barcelona Free Trade Zone to manufacture electric vehicles and will become the first company to manufacture Chinese cars throughout the state. In the absence of finalizing the final details of the negotiation, it is expected that the agreement with the Generalitat government can be officially signed on Friday, April 19.
The Business Minister, Roger Torrent, traveled to China this Wednesday to finish sealing the pact, which would allow the 600 Nissan workers who were left without work to be absorbed when the Japanese brand’s plant closed. In fact, the forecast is that the arrival of Chery will generate more than 1,000 direct jobs.
Torrent will meet with Chery executives at the company’s headquarters in the Wuhu region. You will also meet representatives of other multinationals in the automotive sector in China, with the aim of positioning Catalonia as one of the most attractive places in Europe to establish production plants.
And the Asian country is one of the largest investors on a global scale and the leading producer of vehicles in the world, far above the United States, Japan or India.
According to the economic newspaper Cinco Días, Chery’s plans are to manufacture entire vehicles in the Free Zone, including the Omoda 5 electric model. During much of the negotiations it had been said that only the final assembly of the vehicle would be carried out in Barcelona, ??but if the entire construction process is carried out this would imply more hiring and the need to find local parts suppliers.
As explained by the vice president of the Chery group, Charlie Zhang, in a meeting with the media in February, the company’s idea is to initiate “long-term sustainable growth” and expand the distribution network during 2024 to 65 points of sale in the entire state.
At the moment, the only model available in Spain is this Omoda 5, in gasoline and electric versions. It is an SUV that costs around 28,000 euros and that can be purchased in the state for just a couple of months. Looking ahead to 2025, Chery plans to introduce a hybrid version, according to Cinco Días.
Chery launched the Omoda brand in 2022 in Russia and Kazakhstan, and has currently also expanded to other countries such as Chile or South Africa. Together with Exceed and Jaecoo, which will also soon arrive in Spain with two SUVs, these are the Chinese multinational’s bets to boost growth in markets such as Europe.
