China's Chery Automobile to set up UK research centre
Chery Automobile will establish a research and development centre in Britain this year, the company said on Wednesday, as demand for Chinese cars grows in the country. The facility, which will be at the vehicle development and testing centre UTAC Millbrook in Bedfordshire, is set to open in late autumn 2026, the firm said. “UTAC Millbrook allows us to turn UK customer insight into product…
Chery Automobile plans to establish a research and development centre in the United Kingdom in late autumn 2026, according to the company's announcement on Wednesday. The centre, situated at UTAC Millbrook's vehicle development and testing facility in Bedfordshire, aims to transform UK customer insights into product development, ranging from ride and steering to active safety systems.
Gary Lan, CEO of Chery International UK, remarked on the strategic alignment. This initiative aligns with a prior agreement with Nissan to investigate manufacturing Chery's UK passenger vehicles at Nissan's Sunderland facility. Chinese car brands now constitute approximately 15% of new UK car registrations in the first half of 2023, up from around 10% in the entire previous year, according to SMMT data, largely due to competitive pricing.
Chery has already surpassed 20 million global vehicle sales, with monthly exports exceeding 200,000 units. SAIC Motor's MG, BYD, and Chery's JAECOO and OMODA are the leading Chinese brands among UK customers, as per SMMT data. The Bedfordshire centre's initial focus will be on developing vehicle chassis and driver-assistance systems tailored to British drivers, with plans to eventually expand into autonomous driving and AI systems.
Kirsty Andrew, vice president of UTAC UK, emphasized the long-term engineering relationship that the centre represents.
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