By Victoria Waldersee and Joan Faus
MADRID/BARCELONA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Chinese carmaker Chery will start production of its own vehicles in Spain "as soon as possible" this year, a top executive said on Friday, after successive delays to what will be its first factory in Europe.
The confirmation that production will slide later into 2026 follows an earlier delay to the fourth quarter of 2025 with commercial reasons cited, including European Union tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs).
Originally
Chery had planned to start production of its vehicles in Barcelona in 2024. Chinese carmakers have gained market share in Spain amid an aggressive price war by EV makers worldwide.
Local authorities have hailed the Chery investment - located in a former plant of Japanese carmaker Nissan - as a positive example of closer commercial ties between Spain and China and a reflection of Spain's potential as Europe's second biggest car maker.
The Barcelona plant is a joint venture between Spanish carmaker Ebro, which is already manufacturing cars using a shared production platform and shared technology, and Chery. Ebro had ceased sales in 1987 until its relaunch in 2024.
Chery's executive vice president and chief executive for the European Union region, Zhu Shaodong, told Reuters the Chinese carmaker was still "revving up" its plans for Barcelona but that he was confident that production would start this year.
Asked in which quarter it would start, he declined to specify but said it would be "as soon as possible".
Chery said in 2024 it would manufacture its SUV Omoda 5 model, both in its EV and combustion engine versions, in Barcelona and would later also produce its Jaecoo 7 model there.
Zhu spoke on the sidelines of an event in Madrid, in which he said Chery plans to use the Barcelona plant for exports to Latin America.
The Chery-Ebro venture said in 2024 it would aim to produce up to 150,000 vehicles a year by 2029 and make the Barcelona plant one of Chery's main export facilities.
(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, writing by Joan Faus, editing by Aislinn Laing and Susan Fenton)
