![\"Chinese](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/4df006f3a28802a091c8346a529a7d5b.jpeg\")
Chinese car maker Chery’s Chairman Yin Tongyue wants to make Chery a ‘citizen of the UK’ (Chery) <\/p>\n Chinese car maker Chery’s Chairman Yin Tongyue wants to make Chery a ‘citizen of the UK’ (Chery) <\/p>\n
Chery Chairman Yin Tongyue has confirmed that his company is looking to forge closer ties with the UK, including working more closely with its long-time partner in China, JLR.<\/p>\n
Speaking to The Independent<\/a> at the Chery International Business Summit in Wuhu, China, Yin confirmed that Chery was looking to expand from its current sales operation in the UK. \u201cWe try to be a citizen of the UK,\u201d he said. \u201cThe UK is a very special country. It\u2019s a big country with high technology, a lot of innovation and it\u2019s the finance centre in the world.<\/p>\n \u201cThe UK has a very good relationship with the European Union and United States, so everything we try to be. We strongly prepare to be local: local engineering, local R&D, local finance, local manufacturing.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s been reported that Chery has had conversations with Nissan about utilising its Sunderland factory to build Chery vehicles, while Chery will be basing its European headquarters for its Delivan commercial vehicle brand in Liverpool. However, Yin focused more on the potential of Chery\u2019s relationship with JLR to help boost British business.<\/p>\n Chery has had a partnership with JLR in China since 2012 and has just revealed the first of a family of Freelander models<\/a> designed by JLR in the UK and engineered and built by Chery in China.<\/p>\n \u201cWe get a lot of support from JLR, people work very closely,\u201d said Yin, adding: \u201cAnd so, we have some responsibility to make JLR bigger and great again.\u201d<\/p>\n Owning British brands, like those of JLR \u2013 Jaguar, Land Rover, Range Rover \u2013 is also something Yin would be keen to achieve. \u201cOnce I have a JLR, once I have a Chery, I own it. And then maybe we can get some local brand to be realised again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Discussions about Chery using a British brand \u2013 in addition to the Freelander name \u2013 were confirmed by Guibing Zhang, president of Chery International. \u201cGenerally, we are very interesting to recover some old brands in the UK,\u201d said Zhang. \u201cWe hope in the future in the UK we also can recover what the UK people like, a very lovely brand we can do together.\u201d<\/p>\n Yin Tongyue, continued saying: \u201cThe Freelander \u2013 we already make a whole family…\u201cIf available, we want a UK brand. A UK brand is very fancy, such as MG \u2013 it\u2019s very successful.\u201d<\/p>\n Yin says he has good relations with the UK government<\/a>, and high-level conversations have already taken place. Yin told us: \u201cWe get very strong support from the UK. Just in recent times we have twice met the Prime Minister, once in Beijing and once in London.<\/p>\n \u201cThe UK government just said that the UK used to be the biggest car maker in the world, but from 2016 the government was a mess. So how can we make [the UK] fly again? This is what we want.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also promised to the government to try to do our best. We invest to have some local teams behind local people. Maybe we try to use some capacity locally \u2013 this is the situation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just say: be somewhere, for somewhere. We say in the UK for the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n Yin also says that he is planning to set up a trading company to ship products from the UK to China to offset the balance of trade that currently sits in China\u2019s favour. \u201cWe also promised to try and set up the trade company, to take some UK products back to China. The Chinese<\/a> with the UK is trade unbalance.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the Chery side, we try to balance it by ourselves. We take products locally back to China \u2013 so a heavy container comes in, and we can carry the container back.\u201d<\/p>\n Chery Chairman Yin Tongyue and Guibing Zhang, president of Chery International met with Steve Fowler at the Chery International Business Summit in Wuhu, China (Chery) <\/p>\n
Chery already has the Freelander name on its books, but would be keen to add other British brands (Steve Fowler) <\/p>\n
Chery’s Jaecoo 7 model was the UK’s best-selling new car in March this year (PA) <\/p>\n