Chery to create R&D centre in Australia

Chery's International boss confirmed a local research and development centre is in the works for Australia.. Chery International President Zhang Guibing noted that Australian-based engineers would help the brand tune its cars to better suit local conditions.. Zhang said an R&D centre is planned, and even suggested one of Chery's sub-brands could be headquartered in Australia in the future..

"We will create an R&D center in Australia," he confirmed.. "We will use more local labor to really teach Chery because we are far [from] Australia.. "The habits, the road conditions, the weather is a big difference..

Even now… [but] maybe in the future we are also different." The move to build an R&D centre in Australia would make Chery an on-paper leader in localisation in terms of its Chinese compatriots, with GWM also employing a local ride and handling expert in former Holden guru Rob Trubiani.. Chery earlier this year confirmed it would build an R&D centre in Millbrook in the UK, though given the emphasis Zhang places on Australia, it seems an Aussie localisation program will teach the brand plenty about getting ahead in the brutally competitive new-car market.. The announcement goes against the brand's local arm saying last year that local ride and handling work is 'irrelevant' because much of the tech in Chery's cars is too new for local experience to tune..

"I think as long as we have the intelligent and educated input, whether we do that work in China or Europe or North America is irrelevant," Chery's local Chief Operating Officer Lucas Harris said in late 2025.. To further cement Australia's importance in the eyes of Chery's top brass, Zhang suggested Sydney or Melbourne as potential locations for one of Chery's sub-brands' international operations to be headquartered in future.. Chery currently has several global sub-brands:.

Jetour, Exlantix, Lepas, Luxeed, iCaur, Freelander and finally Omoda and Jaecoo, with the latter often paired together.. This came alongside the acknowledgement that many have suggested London as a possible headquarters for Jaecoo's international arm.. He also noted the Stockman, Chery's upcoming ute, will launch in Australia before any other market, including China..

Zhang also said Chery's sub-brands in Australia wouldn't all be based in the same city, ideally.. "Some of the brands, the headquarters maybe [we] put in Sydney.. Some of the brand we put not in Sydney, in other cities… Melbourne." He outlined that even in Wuhu, the plan is for Chery's sub-brands to at least have their own buildings and spaces to develop and engineer their vehicles, despite the regularly shared engineering and tech across the Chery group..

Mr Zhang's approach is to try and tailor the staff on each brand to best understand the intended audience of the brand by being closer to that demographic where possible.. "Actually, the team, the people, the different R&D department people is completely separated.. "Because we want this brand from R&D and later the sales the, marketing, the people really is the same [as the] customer group of the brand..

"Even the building, the design is also a very strong link with the customer feeling.. So this is our main decision.  "Even for me, I don't participate.. Because I think I'm not the customer group..

So if sometimes I make too many decisions, it's wrong.  "So I will leave more power to the different brand groups.. So they will make their own decisions on how to really make the customer happy, because they [better] understand the customers.".