Serbia and Turkey\u2014also major destinations for Chinese automotive production\u2014sit outside the EU single market<\/a> entirely, exposing any vehicle produced there to continued rules-of-origin complexity and potential future tariff risk. Spain, by contrast, offers full EU membership, Europe\u2019s second-largest vehicle production base and a mature, integrated supply chain covering stamping, electronics, logistics and a workforce already trained in high-volume automotive assembly. Galicia\u2019s Atlantic ports, crucially, provide direct shipping access to the UK\u2014MG\u2019s single most important European market\u2014alongside broader Mediterranean and continental reach.\u00a0<\/p>\n The perception argument matters too: for Chinese brands trying to shed the \u201cimported budget car\u201d association in European consumer minds, manufacturing in an established automotive nation carries weight that a facility in Budapest or Belgrade does not. A similar logic is unfolding around BYD\u2019s tentative plans to establish<\/a> a manufacturing foothold in Italy via a Stellantis plant.<\/p>\n Of course, SAIC is far from the first Chinese automaker to commit to Spanish production. Chery has been building vehicles in Barcelona since late 2024 through its joint venture with Ebro-EV Motors, using the former Nissan plant that Spanish authorities had been actively seeking to repurpose since Nissan\u2019s 2021 exit. Leapmotor is preparing to launch production of the B10 at a Stellantis facility near Zaragoza later this year. The Spanish government\u2019s PERTE VEC programme\u2014a state-backed strategic fund for electric and connected vehicle investment\u2014has provided a further financial inducement that has been absent from most Eastern European alternatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n MG has not confirmed which models will be produced at Ferrol, though BEVs are the most likely choice given that the facility\u2019s primary purpose is tariff avoidance. The plant will be built in two phases, with the 120,000-unit capacity figure tied to completion of the second phase, for which no timeline has been given. The first phase is more modest in scope, and the 2028 opening date leaves limited runway before the investment begins generating returns.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"saic](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_0200-e1780482554454.jpg\")
The UK is MG\u2019s largest European market<\/p>\n