Chery has announced it will open a dedicated research and development centre in the UK later in 2026, establishing what it calls a “Centre of Excellence” at the UTAC Millbrook proving ground in Bedfordshire from late autumn. Chery International UK Chief Executive Gary Lan called it “the next step in our long-term plan for the UK,” noting that the company had “waited over 20 years for the right time to enter this market.”

The Millbrook site, which is used by the wider motor industry and the UK Ministry of Defence, gives Chery access to more than 43 miles of purpose-built test tracks. Initial work will focus on tuning chassis dynamics, steering feel and driver-assistance systems specifically for UK roads and driving conditions, before eventually expanding into autonomous driving and artificial intelligence research. UTAC UK Vice President Kirsty Andrew said the arrangement reflects “the sustained momentum of a long-term engineering relationship,” rather than a one-off vehicle testing.

The investment specifically in the UK is no accident: the country has quickly emerged as the go-to for Chinese brands looking to enter Western European markets, and none have benefitted more from this than Chery itself. Chinese brands accounted for roughly 15% of new UK car registrations during H1 2026, up from about 10% across all of 2025, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Chery’s Omoda, Jaecoo and core Chery brands together commanded around 7-8% of the UK market by July, up from just 3% a year earlier. The Jaecoo 7 SUV stands as the country’s best-selling car outright.

Chery has surpassed 100,000 cumulative UK sales in the two short years since it launched in August 2024. It delivered 53,600 cars in Britain during 2025, and it is well on track to surpass that total in 2026. The Jaecoo 7 alone has shifted more than 53,000 units, and more than three-quarters of those were for the plug-in hybrid version. 

That preference is no surprise and indicative of Chery’s strategy for Western markets more broadly. Like many other countries, the UK’s electric vehicle transition is running well behind the pace its regulatory targets demand. As such, Chery has built its UK range primarily around hybrid and plug-in hybrid options, while retaining battery-electric and internal combustion engine options for consumers who want them. 

Alongside the research centre, Chery is actively exploring its UK manufacturing options. Following a campaign by the UK government to have the automaker use excess capacity at existing Jaguar Landrover facilities, it appears likely that Chery will instead opt for Nissan’s Sunderland plant, which faces comparable underuse issues. A non-binding memorandum of understanding was signed between the two companies in June to examine contract assembly, with a potential start date as early as 2027.

The UK’s appeal over other European markets is due largely to trade policy rather than consumer preference alone. The UK’s post-Brexit tariff framework has remained considerably more friendly to Chinese-built vehicles than the EU’s system of countervailing duties, which run higher than 40% for some automakers. This has the effect of making it Chery’s highest-margin European entry point and helps explain why its UK investment is outpacing its wider continental rollout.

Chery has not disclosed how much it will invest in Millbrook or how many jobs the centre will create, but establishing a standalone engineering base well ahead of any confirmed manufacturing deal strongly indicates that it sees the UK as more than an import market. Instead, the company appears to be positioning the UK specifically as a right-hand-drive engineering hub—one it can eventually replicate across other RHD markets like Australia and South Africa.