Latest news with #VictorZhang
The Guardian
24-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Guardian
Chinese carmaker Chery Auto ‘actively considering' building UK factory
The Chinese carmaker Chery Auto is considering building its second European factory in Britain. After launching two brands – Omoda and Jaecoo – in the UK in September, Chery's UK director, Victor Zhang, said the company is making inroads in the British market with the appetite growing for Chinese cars. He was speaking at the annual conference of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, where the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, admitted there was 'still a lot of work' to do in negotiating away all of Donald Trump's tariffs against the British automotive, steel and food and drinks sectors. Zhang told the event in London on Tuesday that the company was 'actively considering' building a second plant in the UK as part of a 'localisation' strategy. 'If we, as a brand, want to be here, to be committed, to be here [manufacturing] is something that we should do. This is the open topic. Everything is on the table. We are considering, we are talking with the relevant parties.' He said the company had taken 2% of the UK EV market since it launched in 75 showrooms in the UK in September and the curiosity of British car drivers was translating into sales – including what he claimed was a 'super' hybrid car with capacity for 90 miles on drive-generated energy. 'The UK market is quite open; 40% of customers say they are willing to consider Chinese brands,' he said. Chinese manufacturers are intensifying their export efforts in the UK and in the EU in the face of prohibitive tariffs imposed by Donald Trump in the US. Geely Auto has invested more than £3bn in the British sports car maker Lotus, and another Chinese EV battery firm, EVE Energy, is in talks to invest more than £1bn to build a giant new factory on the outskirts of Coventry. They are also investing in factories in the EU to avoid tariffs imposed on EV imports by Brussels last summer. Rival Chinese firm BYD is building its first assembly plant in the EU in Hungary, and Omoda has sealed a joint venture plant with Spanish carmaker Ebro, south of Barcelona. The UK's trade deal with the US comes into force on Monday and will include a reduction in tariffs from 27.5% to 10%, giving a competitive advantage over the EU which is still facing 25% tariffs on cars sold to the US. However, it is still four times the tariff rate on car imports from the UK that applied before Donald Trump's 'liberation day' in April. A 10% tariff on general imports from the UK still applies, as does a 25% tariff on UK steel. Reynolds has said he is 'fighting' to get these eliminated. 'I'm fighting quite hard to make sure we are included [in a steel tariff exemption],' he said. 'I believe it's possible [to strike a deal] on the reciprocal tariffs, the so called 10% so there's still a lot of work going on on that.' Sherard Cowper-Coles, chair of the China-Britain business council and a former diplomat, told the conference the UK was stepping up its engagement with China and Chinese investors were actively looking for opportunities in the UK 'because of Trump'. He claimed the UK national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, would 'visit China in the middle of next month to prepare for a visit by the prime minister' and that Reynolds would go to the joint economic and trade commission in September.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Chery's Omoda 9 plug-in hybrid will be rival to Skoda Kodiaq, Toyota RAV4 and BYD Seal U in Europe
Chinese brand Omoda has begun sales of the Omoda 9 midsize plug-in hybrid SUV in its core European markets as its parent Chery tries to pivots away from gasoline cars. The Omoda 9 sits above the Omoda 5 compact SUV and comes with a large 34-kilowatt hour battery to give an electric-only range of 145 km (93 miles) It is 4770-mm long and will compete against plug-in hybrid versions of the Skoda Kodiaq, Toyota RAV4, BYD Seal U and Mazda CX-60 in Omoda's European markets of Spain, the U.K., Poland and Italy. Chery was the fastest growing Chinese automaker in Europe in the first two months with sales of 8,000, up 4,271 percent on the year before, according to figures from market researcher Dataforce. Chery's growth has mainly come from gasoline models, which accounted for 78 percent of the company's sales. Chery sells gasoline versions of the Omoda 5 and Jaecoo 7 compact SUV. Jaecoo also offers a plug-in hybrid version of the Jaecoo 7, using an 18 kilowatt-hour battery. The Omoda 5 also available as an all-electric model. Chery will offer one version of the Omoda 9 plug-in-hybrid with a long list of standard equipment, including technology usually restricted to higher-grade models such as a head-up display, a 1.3-meter-long sunroof, heated and ventilated seats front and rear, and a 14-speaker Sony stereo system. The dashboard is dominated by a large curved 24.6-inch information panel that incorporates a touchscreen. The so-called Super Hybrid System (SHS) packages a 143 hp, 1.5-liter gasoline engine and three electric motors to give a claimed combined power output of 443 hp. Omoda says the car will accelerate from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in 4.9 seconds. One of the three motors is mounted on the rear axle to give the car all-wheel-drive capability. Different driving modes including Eco, Normal, Sport, Mud, Snow and Off-Road change the way the power is delivered. The car is priced at 44,990 pounds ($58,220) in the U.K., Chery's second largest market in Europe after Spain. The price is pitched above the entry Skoda Kodiaq iV plug-in hybrid at 41,935 pounds (€54,000), with the Omoda aiming to tempt customers with more power and equipment. The Omoda 9 will be followed by the Omoda 7 SUV that slots below but above the 5, Chery U.K. head Victor Zhang told Automotive News Europe last year, without giving timings. A small SUV badged 3 will follow after the 7, Zhang said. Sign up for the Automotive News Europe Interview of the Month newsletter delivering exclusive interviews with top auto executives. Omoda and Jaecoo are Chery's export brands. The company has recently said it would offer its Tiggo brand in select eastern European markets, starting with the midsize Tiggo 8 plug-in hybrid . Models in the Tiggo range are also sold under the Italian DR brand as well as Ebro in Spain. Chery aims to become a plug-in hybrid leader in Europe, the company has said. Plug-in hybrids are not subject to the same tariff increases recently applied to Chinese built-EVs by the European Union and are increasingly being offered by Chinese brands as a way to lower their average CO2 as EV sales are constrained by the tariffs. Sales of Chinese-built plug-in hybrid electric vehicles rose 321 percent in February to 4,744, led by the BYD Seal U SUV, MG HS and the Jaecoo 7.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Webinar: How a fresh approach to gauging risk will make modern cars insurable
Vehicle testing organisation Thatcham Research's new Vehicle Risk Rating represents the biggest change to the car insurance industry in decades. This new rating system, which scores cars from 1-99 across five assessment bands, has been designed to deliver more accurate insurance premiums. It replaces the current Group Ratings that have been in place for more than 25 years, and takes into account performance, damageability, repairability, safety and security. Ben Townsend, head of automotive at Thatcham Research, Victor Zhang, UK country director at Omoda and Jaecoo, Scott McCammon, head of motor repair at Admiral and Felix Page, deputy editor at Autocar will discuss what this change means for UK car insurance and the car industry as a whole. Join our webinar 'How a fresh approach to gauging risk will make modern cars insurable' on 8 May at 11:00 to find out more about this industry-changing shift, how the new rating system works, how the vehicles are assessed, and how Thatcham Research can assist manufacturers with the process. Click here to sign up ]]>
