Almost half of Chery exports now made outside of China as it targets 70% by 2030
At a recent event, Zhang Guibing, executive vice president of Chery Automobile, revealed that approximately 48% of the vehicles it has exported this year have been manufactured outside of China. As the company pursues greater localisation of its manufacturing footprint around the world, it expects this to rise to 70% by 2030.
Chery has more than 10 global car assembly locations and is investing heavily in greater localisation
Chery International
During the Chery Group User Summit in Wuhu, China, Zhang Guibing, executive vice president of Chery Automobile, said that vehicles manufactured outside of China account for around 48% of Chery's export volume in 2026. By the end of the year, he expects the majority of its exported vehicles to have been assembled overseas.
This comes as Chery continues to invest in the localisation of its manufacturing and supply chain operations in foreign markets all around the world. Zhang reportedly claimed that by next year, overseas production will be responsible for 60% of Chery's export volume – rising to 70% by 2030.
"Step by step, we are trying to localise production and rely mainly on local manufacturing," Zhang said at the event, adding that as well as local production, the company is looking for opportunities to create jobs in these regions and cooperate with local technologies.
Outside of China, Chery Group has four main manufacturing bases: Brazil, Egypt, Kazakhstan and Malaysia. In October 2024, it celebrated the global synchronised roll-off of the Chery Tiggo 8 across these facilities around the world. Chery group also assembles vehicles from completely knocked-down (CKD) kits in Indonesia, Thailand and Pakistan.
Looking ahead over the next few years, Chery Group has ambitious plans for global expansion and local production. In the UK, Chery Group is planning to assemble vehicles at Nissan's Sunderland plant after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nissan to explore contract manufacturing at the facility earlier this year.
Also in Europe, Chery Group recently shared an update at the Paris Motor Show on the progress of its joint collaboration with Spanish automaker Ebro. It expects a pre-series of the Jaecoo 5 BEV to be in production by the end of the year, with mass production targeted at Ebro's site in Barcelona for the first quarter of 2027.
Chery also intends to begin production on another continent – Africa – next year, after agreeing a deal in January to acquire Nissan's manufacturing assets in Rosslyn, South Africa. As part of the deal, Chery SA took ownership of the land, buildings and associated assets of Nissan's factory in Rosslyn, as well as its nearby stamping plant.
The Rosslyn plant officially reopened under Chery's ownership in July and, following upgrades and renovations, production is expected to begin at the site in mid-2027.
"According to the concept of 'In somewhere, For somewhere, Be somewhere', no matter where it invests, Chery Auto will try its best to integrate into the local economy, local community and the future of this country in every market it enters," said Yin Tongyue, chairman of Chery Auto, following the opening of the Rosslyn plant.
To support its plans for global expansion and greater localisation, Chery signed an MoU with logistics conglomerate CMA CGM and its fully owned subsidiary Ceva Logistics in June, setting the foundation for a long-term strategic collaboration. Under this agreement, CMA CGM and Ceva Logistics committed to support Chery’s operations across several key regions including Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East.
As well as finished vehicles, the collaboration also extends to the movement of automotive parts and batteries for electric vehicles, with solutions spanning domestic distribution, international transportation and complex multimodal operations.
"As global automotive supply chains become increasingly complex, strong and reliable transport and logistics partnerships are more important than ever," said Amélie Humphreys, general manager at CMA CGM China.
"By combining CMA CGM’s extensive global shipping and logistics capabilities with CEVA Logistics’ end-to-end automotive logistics expertise, this three-party partnership is well positioned to enhance local market responsiveness, strengthen supply chain performance and support more resilient international operations," added Chen Chunqing, executive vice president of Chery International. "Through this collaboration, we believe we can better serve local market needs while jointly fostering robust, localised and future-ready supply chain ecosystems."
