It looks like Chery may soon be able to build some of its cars much closer to markets like the UK and Europe. But instead of building a dedicated manufacturing plant, Chery could soon make its cars at Nissan's Sunderland plant in the UK.

But doesn't Nissan still use the Sunderland factory to make cars like the Qashqai, the all-new Leaf EV, and the Juke? Well, despite manufacturing three Nissan models, the plant capacity has been at roughly 50%, which means it's underutilized. This is where Chery comes in.

Recently, Nissan and Chery International UK signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the study of contract manufacturing for Nissan to manufacture Chery International UK passenger vehicles at its Sunderland Plant.

Under the terms, the Sunderland facility would remain fully owned by Nissan, with the team at the plant employed by Nissan. However, the MoU indicates the possibility that Nissan would aim to begin building Chery passenger vehicles on the plant's production Line One beginning in fiscal year 2027.

Back in May 2026, Nissan announced it would consolidate its manufacturing operations onto production Line Two as part of the brand's cost reduction.

“This is an important step forward for our operations. We are looking forward to working with Chery International UK in the coming months to finalize a position that is optimal for both companies,” said Massimiliano Messina, Chairperson of Nissan AMIEO (Africa, Middle East, India, Europe, and Oceania)

Discussions between Nissan and Chery are ongoing, but no further details have been revealed to the public as of now.

With Nissan's Sunderland plant underutilized and Chery looking to have a bigger market presence in the UK and beyond, we'll be keeping a close eye on the development on this MoU between Nissan and Chery.