Chery is reportedly close to taking over several Volkswagen manufacturing plants in Germany, according to a source familiar to the matter.
As reported by Automotive News Europe, Chinese carmaker Chery intends to repurpose the facilities to produce vehicles from its newly-announced Lepas sub-brand.
Reuters reported back in January that the Volkswagen group is planning to shutter several manufacturing plants in Germany to lower running costs. This has since attracted hungry brands from China to buy or lease these manufacturing facilities, primarily to bypass import tariffs from the European Union amid their globalisation push.
Chery, who claim to be China’s biggest automotive exporter, are specifically eyeing the VW facilities in Dresden and Osnabrück that are said to be closing soon.
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Speaking to media at the Chery dealer event in Wuhu last week, Chery International Vice President, Charlie Zhang has confirmed that the carmaker is exploring opportunities for production in Germany, although he stopped short from mentioning Volkswagen.
“We need to study the feasibility plan, because in Germany, the situation is very, very complicated,” Zhang said, noting that labour, cost, and regulatory conditions remain obstacles for the Chinese carmaker.
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This won’t be Chery’s first rodeo into Europe as they have already started manufacturing in Europe last year at a former Nissan plant in Barcelona through a partnership with Spanish firm Ebro.
Currently, the facility manufactures the Ebro S700 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) that is based on Chery’s Tiggo platform. Plans to upgrade the Barcelona facility are underway as Chery looks to include manufacturing of EVs from the Omoda and Jaecoo brand and ultimately expanding their lineup of cars.
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