Baker McKenzie has advised Chinese automaker Chery on a joint venture in Barcelona with Spain’s EV Motors to establish the first Chinese automotive plant in Europe.
Stanley Jia, chief representative at the Beijing office, led the Baker McKenzie team, with support from Barcelona-based partner Cristina Rios.
The joint venture agreement was signed in the presence of Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, who saw the partnership as a symbol for the reindustrialisation of Catalonia and Spain as a whole.
Sánchez said Chery and EV Motors would invest around EUR400 million (USD429 million) in the plant.
Under the agreement’s terms, EV Motors will own the plant, while Chery will focus on developing electric vehicles. Production of electric vehicles is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of this year and by 2029, the plant aims to expand its annual capacity to 150,000 vehicles, generating more than 1,200 local jobs.
Although BYD announced its European plant earlier, Chery’s conversion of Nissan’s former factory in Spain means construction is expected to be completed ahead of its Chinese peer. In recent years, several Chinese automakers have targeted Europe as a strategic location to establish manufacturing facilities.
Spain, Europe’s second-largest car producer after Germany, has allocated funds from the EU pandemic relief package in 2020 towards an automotive development programme aimed at attracting electric car and battery manufacturers.
