Chinese automaker Chery has informed the government it plans to invest $400 million to raise an electric vehicle manufacturing plant. The plan is phased: they will reach 50,000 units in 2025 and 100,000 in 2030, they said.
Chery already has a plant in Brazil (where it produces the Tiggo2 and the Arrizo5) and the one in Argentina exploit lithium reserves available in the north. The batteries for these vehicles will be manufactured in Jujuy by another Chinese company called Gotion.
This company announced last year an alliance with the provincial company Jemse for the installation of a cell factory for lithium batteries in Perico. That plant will not only supply Chery, but will also be exported to Germany, India, the United States, Spain and Vietnam.
The announcement was made after the meeting held on Wednesday in the city of Wuhu between the vice president of Chery International, Zhang Shenghan; the Secretary of Industry, José de Mendiguren (via zoom), and the Argentine Ambassador to China, Sabino Vaca Narvaja.
The embassy reported that a delegation from Chery will be traveling this month in Argentina to define the details of the projects.
As they showed at the meeting, Chery’s idea would be start production in 2023 with 15,000 units, rise to 40,000 in 2024 and reach 50,000 the following year. In this phase, $300 million will be disbursed and 4,000 people will be hired.
In Argentina, sales of hybrid and electric vehicles during 2022 reached 7,848 patented units -7,588 hybrid and 260 pure electric-, with a 33% increase compared to 2021 and 231% compared to 2020, according to Acara, the Chamber that brings together the dealers.
At the brand level, the two main ones are Toyota and Ford, which account for 91.8% of the patents. Toyota, on the other hand, today sells 86% of vehicles with alternative engines in Argentina. Only two of its models (Corolla and Corolla Cross) account for 79% of the 2022 patents and, being made in Brazil, do not pay any duties.
Founded in 1997 in Wuhu, Chery is one of China’s leading automakers. It’s been 19 years like the the largest vehicle exporter in your country: Of the 961,000 units sold in 2021, more than 250,000 were overseas.
It is controlled by the Chinese state together with another Chinese automotive giant, the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), which holds 20% of the shares.
Source: Clarin
