Chery has confirmed its plans to open a European headquarters in Liverpool. The move comes with the automotive giant on the brink of signing a deal with Jaguar Land Rover to build Chinese cars in the UK.
The announcement coincides with a visit by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to Beijing, which is designed to bolster trading relations between the UK and China. Liverpool’s Labour Council Leader, Cllr Liam Robinson, welcomed Chery’s decision as “a huge opportunity”, stating that it will “bring some great, high-skilled, well-paid jobs to the city”.
At this stage, it’s not clear when Chery will open its new base in Liverpool. However, it does reinforce the rumours surrounding a deal between Chery and JLR which could see the former take advantage of spare capacity at JLR’s manufacturing plants.
JLR and Chery have strong links; the two automotive giants formed Chery Jaguar Land Rover in 2012 in order to build JLR models on Chinese soil. Despite a decrease in sales in 2025, China remains JLR’s second-largest market outside the U.S, with models such as the forthcoming electric Freelander to be produced exclusively for Chinese buyers.
Regardless, maximising productivity in this way should help protect jobs and rake in extra revenue for JLR after a disastrous year in 2025 as a result of the cyber attack, which saw production shut down for more than five weeks.
Speaking to Auto Express, Professor of Economics at Birmingham Business School, David Bailey, said: “Such moves reflect a pragmatic attempt to manage risk, improve asset use, and sustain industrial capability during a period of structural change.”
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