Cherry to Establish Joint Venture with Jaguar Land Rover

With Land Rover sales having skyrocketed by 68% last year to 34,993 units and Jaguar sales also going up considerably, by 58% to 3,897 vehicles, all of which were imported, with the number of cars sold expected to drastically increase, Chery is planning a €1.49 ($1.90) billion joint venture to produce Jaguar and Land Rover cars in Changshu, in the Jiangsu province.

The aim is to produce up to 130,000 units per year, after Chery and Jaguar-Land Rover officials signed the deal officially in March of this year. The road ahead for the new plant is not clear however, as they need to get permission to build it both from China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s main economic agency.

It is a bold move on both sides, but if it’s successful, it would substantially benefit Jaguar-Land Rover’s position in China and Asia in general.