Takeaways
- Nissan‘s Sunderland plant operates at approximately 50 percent of its 600,000-unit annual capacity, having improved from below 30 percent with the new Leaf but remaining well below full utilisation.
- Chery already produces at former Nissan facilities in Barcelona, Spain, and will acquire Nissan’s Rosslyn plant in South Africa in mid-2026, while holding confidential talks with multiple European automakers about further production partnerships.
Nissan has held early-stage talks with Chery about assembling cars at the Japanese automaker‘s Sunderland plant in northeast England, according to a Financial Times report published on 16 April 2026, citing four people with knowledge of the discussions.
The initiative aims to boost the factory’s utilisation rate, which currently stands at approximately 50 percent. The Sunderland facility, the UK’s largest car factory, has an annual capacity of about 600,000 vehicles and produced roughly 282,000 cars in 2024.
Sunderland Utilisation Improves But Remains Below Full Capacity
The plant’s utilisation rate has risen from below 30 percent following the launch of Nissan‘s new Leaf electric vehicle, but still operates well below full capacity. Nissan employs about 6,000 full-time workers at Sunderland and the facility will also begin producing an all-electric Juke model in the fourth quarter of 2026, with vehicles expected to reach customers in spring 2027.
Despite recent product additions, the plant’s long-term future has been questioned as Nissan undertakes a global restructuring programme involving the permanent closure of some manufacturing sites and up to 20,000 job cuts worldwide.
Chery Already Uses Former Nissan Plants in Spain and South Africa
Chery has already established production at two former Nissan facilities. The Chinese automaker acquired Nissan’s former Barcelona plant through a joint venture with Spanish automotive company Ebro and aims to produce 200,000 vehicles annually there by 2029. In January 2026, Chery agreed to buy Nissan’s Rosslyn plant in South Africa, with the acquisition set for mid-2026.
Chery chairman Yin Tongyue has stated that the company prefers using existing production capacity instead of investing heavily in new assembly plants. Lionel Keogh, Chery‘s chief commercial officer for France, confirmed the company is currently holding confidential talks with several European automakers, with France on the list of potential production locations.
Chery’s Fastest-Growing UK Market Position
Chery is the fastest-growing Chinese auto group in the UK, holding a 6 percent overall market share in March 2026 compared with just 1 percent a year earlier. The company recorded 22,495 vehicle sales in Britain in March, a 481.6 percent year-on-year increase, ranking as the country‘s second-best-selling automotive brand behind only Volkswagen.
Chinese brands collectively captured 15 percent of the UK market in March, up from 7.4 percent a year earlier. Chery has already entered 18 European markets, and its European sales surged more than sixfold to over 120,000 vehicles last year.
Partnership May Not Materialise
Two people familiar with the matter cautioned that the Chery discussions may not ultimately result in a commercial deal. Nissan has held similar discussions with Ford, Stellantis and Volkswagen over the past year without concluding agreements.
The open question is whether the industrial logic of a deal that would help Nissan‘s utilisation and give Chery UK-origin status can overcome the commercial and political risks that have prevented previous partnerships from advancing.
