Chery explores manufacturing at Jaguar Land Rover plants in UK

London is making a fresh attempt to revive its domestic auto industry, with Chinese automaker Chery exploring the possibility of manufacturing vehicles at Jaguar Land Rover's British plants. These talks will be a key agenda item during Prime Minister Keir Starmer's upcoming visit to Beijing, and their outcome could significantly shape the future of the sector.

Reviving Production

According to the Financial Times, the UK government supports the initiative to use JLR facilities to produce vehicles under the Chery brand. The official goal is to boost annual car production to 1.3 million units by 2035. This matters because the country currently struggles to reach 740,000, a sharp decline from its peak of 1.7 million in 2016.

Starmer will be the first British prime minister to visit China in eight years, and it is there that Chery and JLR are set to hold their first direct negotiations on a potential partnership.

Why Britain is Betting on a Chinese Brand

Chery is expanding rapidly. In 2025, its Omoda and Jaecoo brands became the fastest-growing Chinese marques in the UK, with Chery itself selling nearly 4,000 vehicles in just three months. For Chinese companies, the British market is particularly attractive due to lower tariffs compared to the EU and the US.

However, high energy and labor costs have previously deterred Chery from local production. Despite this, the company has already acquired Nissan plants in Barcelona and South Africa, demonstrating a clear willingness to expand its global footprint.

Benefits for JLR and the UK Government

For JLR, a partnership could help utilize idle capacity. For the UK government, it offers a chance to regain industrial influence lost after Brexit, the pandemic, and a series of geopolitical crises.

The two brands already have a history of collaboration, including a joint venture in China established in 2012 and a 2024 agreement licensing the Freelander name for Chery's electric vehicles.