Is Jaguar Land Rover about to get in to bed with Chery Automobile in China?

Reports from China say that Jaguar and Land Rover are seeking approval in China for a joint venture with Chery Automobile.

Following on from yesterday’s report that Jaguar are upping the ante in India with plans to assemble the Jaguar XF and Range Rover Evoque in Tata’s back garden, we now hear that JLR has agreed a deal with Chery Automotive in China for a joint venture.

We reported back in February that sources in China were saying that the most likely partner for Jaguar Land Rover would be Chery Automobile, and reports from China Daily say that things have moved on since February and JLR and Chery have now got as far as seeking government approval for a joint venture.

When we had the news back in February about a possible JLR/Chery deal, we asked Jaguar about the reports. Not surprisingly, they were very tight-lipped and wouldn’t be drawn on making any statements. But it’s clear JLR has been in talks with a number of Chinese Automotive companies.

In many ways Chery Automotive is a good move. They are a substantial Chinese car maker – famous, as most Chinese car companies are, for cars which ‘borrow’ their inspiration from the West – but they don’t appear to have any significant joint ventures on the go. Chery produced around 700,000 cars in 2010.

Chery did plan to partner with Fiat to build cars in China, but that never happened. Chery also partner with Quantum LLC and Better Place for Electric Car Technology – a big deal in China – which may help JLR bring an electric car to market in China.

Joint ventures in China with Western companies are a politically sensitive issue, so there’s little chance of any confirmation of this deal until the Chinese are ready to tell the world it’s a done deal.

But it looks very likely JLR will be heading East to play with Chery.

Source: China Daily