The Chinese automaker Chery informed the government that it plans to invest US$400 million to build
an electric vehicle production plant.
The plan is phased: they would reach 50,000 units in 2025 and 100,000 in 2030, they said.
Chery already has a plant in Brazil (where it produces the Tiggo2 and Arrizo5) and the one in Argentina seeks to
take advantage of the lithium reserves
available in the north.
The batteries for these vehicles will be produced in Jujuy by another Chinese company, called Gotion.
This firm announced last year an alliance with the provincial firm Jemse for the installation of a
lithium battery
cell factory in Perico.
That plant will not only supply Chery, but will also be exported to Germany, India, the United States, Spain and Vietnam.
Chery Tiggo 8 PRO.
A seven-seater SUV.
The announcement was made after the meeting held on Wednesday in the city of Wuhu between the vice president of Chery International, Zhang Shenghan;
the Secretary of Industry, José de Mendiguren (via zoom), and the Argentine ambassador to China, Sabino Vaca Narvaja.
The Embassy reported that a Chery delegation will travel
to Argentina
this month to finalize details of the projects.
As they showed at the meeting, Chery's idea would be
to start production in 2023 with 15,000 units
, go up to 40,000 in 2024 and reach 50,000 the following year.
In this phase, US$ 300 million would be disbursed and 4,000 people would be hired.
In Argentina, sales of hybrid and electric vehicles during 2022 reached 7,848 patented units -7,588 hybrids and 260 pure electric-, with
an increase of 33%
compared to 2021 and 231% compared to 2020, according to Acara, the company chamber that brings together the concessionaires.
In terms of brands, the two main ones are Toyota and Ford, which represent 91.8% of the patents.
Toyota, however, today sells 86% of the vehicles with alternative motorization in Argentina
.
Only two of its models (Corolla and Corolla Cross) represent 79% of the 2022 patents and, as they are made in Brazil, they do not pay tariffs.
Founded in 1997 in Wuhu, Chery is one of the leading Chinese automakers.
It has been the
largest vehicle exporter in its country
for 19 years : of the 961,000 units it sold in 2021, more than 250,000 were abroad.
It is controlled by the Chinese state together with another Chinese automotive giant, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), which has 20% of its shares.
NE
look also
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