Chery, a prominent Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, will start producing electric cars at the former Nissan factory in Barcelona. To this end, the company has signed an agreement with EV Motors. It is the first Chinese car manufacturer to establish itself in Europe, with the aim of expanding across the continent.
Production will take place at Nissan’s old facilities in Barcelona’s Zona Franca. The opening ceremony was attended by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, President of the Catalan Government Pere Aragonès, and Minister of Industry and Tourism Jordi Hereu. This step is the result of months of negotiations. The arrival of the Chinese factory is seen as an important step in the re-industrialisation of the complex, which has been abandoned since the end of 2021.
A new start for local employees
The project will initially employ 150 former Nissan plant workers who were left unemployed after the plant closed. The number of employees is expected to grow to a thousand as production increases and new jobs may be created. Chery plans to initially produce Omoda 5 model vehicles in collaboration with Ebro. There is also a plan to produce vehicles from the Spanish brand by the end of the year. The factory would then use licenses from former Nissan models, including an electric version of the ‘pick-up’ model.
Chery’s ambitions for European expansion
By choosing Spain as the gateway to Europe, Omoda aims to spread further across the continent. The company wants to do this by setting up a network of official dealers and establishing a significant presence in the European market. The Omoda 5 is a dynamic, compact and striking SUV model, equipped with a 1.6 TGDI four-cylinder thermal drive of 185 hp and a 7-speed automatic DCT transmission.
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