- Two months on, Donbas soldiers begin to question Kursk offensive
- Rugby Australia to counter-sue in dispute with Melbourne Rebels
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines challenges China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Mets advance on Lindor blast, Dodgers stay alive in MLB playoffs
- Injury-ravaged Krygios aiming to return at Australian Open
- Greek international Baldock, dead at 31: family
- EU talks deportation hubs to stem migration
- Deaths and repression sideline Suu Kyi's party ahead of Myanmar vote
- S. Africa offers a lesson on how not to shut down a coal plant
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Mets advance on Lindor grand slam, Yankees and Tigers win
- Taiwan President Lai vows to 'resist annexation' of island
- China's solar goes from supremacy to oversupply
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Zelensky on whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Lindor powers Mets past Phillies into NL Championship Series
- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
China auto sector steps up Europe push with Spain plant
Chinese carmaker Chery signed a deal Friday to produce mainly electric vehicles in Spain, as Beijing's auto sector pushes ahead with plans to expand into Europe despite growing competition concerns.
It is the second Chinese carmaker to set up in Europe after China's top electric carmaker BYD said in December it would build a factory in Hungary.
Chery's move into Spain comes as the European Union is investigating whether Chinese electric vehicle makers benefit from unfair government subsidies.
The Chinese firm and its Spanish partner Ebro-EV Motors signed a joint venture agreement on Friday to assemble cars at a factory that Japanese carmaker Nissan shut down in December 2021 and that once employed nearly 3,000 people.
Chery, which is known for its cheap cars, is the junior partner in the venture.
The two firms said they expect to create 1,250 jobs and produce around 150,000 vehicles a year by 2029 at the site, a figure which could rise further.
Under the agreement sealed Friday in the presence of Spanish Prime minister Pedro Sanchez, Chery will start to assemble the internal combustion engine and electric versions of its Omoda model in the coming months, using the plant's existing infrastructure.
This production will be supplemented from the fourth quarter of 2024 by electric SUVs marketed under the Ebro brand.
This project "will result in the creation of wealth and, above all, in the creation and maintenance of jobs," Sanchez said, adding it is "a symbol of the process of reindustrialisation" under way "throughout Spain".
Founded in 1997, Chery is a state-owned company which says it sold 1.9 million cars in 2023. It rose to popularity in China about 15 years ago with its small petrol-fuelled city cars aimed at the local market.
It has since moved into the electric vehicle (EV) market although it is not one of China's best-known players, even if it claims to be its biggest vehicle exporter.
- 'Artificially low' prices -
Spain is Europe's second-largest car producing nation after Germany. Last year 1.87 million were assembled in Spain, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.
Chery's move into Spain comes as tensions soar between Beijing and Brussels, with the EU stepping up actions to defend European industry against growing threats from China and the United States.
Brussels in September opened a probe into the subsidies China grants its electric vehicle sector, accusing Beijing of distorting competition.
The European Commission argues these subsidies make it possible for Chinese firms to offer "artificially low" prices. It could respond by slapping punitive customs duties in Chinese vehicles, at the risk of triggering a trade war with Beijing.
Experts said setting up factories on European soil would enable Chinese groups to circumvent any customs duties that Brussels may impose on car imports, and to better integrate into the continental market.
China is the biggest electric vehicle market in the world. Of all new electric vehicles sold globally in December last year, 69 percent were in China, according to the research firm Rystad Energy.
The dynamic Chinese electric vehicle market has in recent years seen the emergence of dozens of local brands such as BYD, Zeeker, XPeng and Great Wall which are now competing with Tesla from the United States and other foreign manufacturers.
Several of these companies are now trying to strengthen their presence in Europe, where some already have sales outlets and research and development centres.
They complain they face unjustified obstacles, which they allege have been imposed at the request of the incumbent European manufacturers.
T.Ward--AMWN