Chery confirms new Liverpool HQ as plans for Jaguar Land Rover to build Chinese firm’s cars in UK gather pace
A deal between the British and Chinese brands could see Chery models built using spare JLR capacity
Chery has confirmed its plans to open a European headquarters in Liverpool. The move comes with the automotive giant on the brink of signing a deal with Jaguar Land Rover to build Chinese cars in the UK.
The announcement coincides with a visit by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to Beijing, which is designed to bolster trading relations between the UK and China. Liverpool’s Labour Council Leader, Cllr Liam Robinson, welcomed Chery’s decision as “a huge opportunity”, stating that it will “bring some great, high-skilled, well-paid jobs to the city”.
At this stage, it’s not clear when Chery will open its new base in Liverpool. However, it does reinforce the rumours surrounding a deal between Chery and JLR which could see the former take advantage of spare capacity at JLR’s manufacturing plants.
JLR and Chery have strong links; the two automotive giants formed Chery Jaguar Land Rover in 2012 in order to build JLR models on Chinese soil. Despite a decrease in sales in 2025, China remains JLR’s second-largest market outside the U.S, with models such as the forthcoming electric Freelander to be produced exclusively for Chinese buyers.
Regardless, maximising productivity in this way should help protect jobs and rake in extra revenue for JLR after a disastrous year in 2025 as a result of the cyber attack, which saw production shut down for more than five weeks.
Speaking to Auto Express, Professor of Economics at Birmingham Business School, David Bailey, said: “Such moves reflect a pragmatic attempt to manage risk, improve asset use, and sustain industrial capability during a period of structural change."
Bailey continued: “Chery is already seeing remarkable brand growth in the UK, so having it produce cars here can only be a good thing for production and consumers.”
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Despite having only made its UK market debut back in August 2025, Chery sold more than 5,500 cars in Britain last year. This makes its market share larger than even the likes of familiar brands such as Alfa Romeo, DS, Genesis and Smart. Sales are expected to increase this year with the flagship Tiggo 9 seven-seater having only just gone on sale in October.
Auto Express has approached both Chery and JLR for a statement. Chery UK was unable to provide a spokesperson at this time, while JLR declined to comment.
What's Jaguar Land Rover doing in China?
JLR’s revamped Chinese joint venture with Chery centres on reviving the Land Rover Freelander as a cutting-edge EV initially for the Chinese market. It'll have a brand new design inspired by Land Rover's first compact SUV, which posted strong sales from launch in 1997. But the technology will be markedly different, moving from '90s mechanical 4x4 tech to the 2020s digital technology that Chinese car buyers demand: leading-edge autopilot software to navigate traffic-choked cities and an immersive user experience packed with video games, streaming and even in-car selfies. The reveal of the production version is expected very soon.
Historically, JLR was earning 50 per cent of its global profits from Range Rover and Range Rover Sport sales in China but, while many European brands have struggled in recent years, the British firm had it worse than most.
Back in 2019, the company was also embroiled in a legal battle with Chinese manufacturer Jiangling Motor Corporation, maker of the Landwind X7 which the courts decided had a copyright-infringing resemblance to the Range Rover Evoque – itself a very close relation to the Land Rover Freelander.
Professor David Bailey explained that JLR was “overly dependent on the Chinese market at that point, and then, things in China turned sour more quickly for JLR than some other firms”.
He continued: “I think that's partly around quality perceptions. But in general, Western companies are now really struggling in China because of slowdown in the Chinese economy, slowdown in the car market there, but also the emergence of Chinese brands which can compete effectively."
So Jaguar Land Rover is on the comeback trail in China and the JLR-Chery factory in Changshu is central to strategy. The facility has a giant 20 megawatt solar farm which generates half of the site’s power and that will soon be used to build the Chinese market Freelander at scale. Whether this model or some other Chery products end up also being built at Jaguar Land Rover facilities in the UK is the question.
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