In April of last year, a news shook the automobile industry in Spain: Chery, owner of brands such as Omoda, It was done with the Nissan factory in Barcelona. Thus ended a long soap opera that had begun In 2020 with the departure of the Japanese firm of the city and for which it was not possible to find a clear future.
The news came with surprise. Ebro, a Spanish brand from rural past, reborn within the facilities They are now owned by Chery. Then there was talk that Ebro would have electric cars and that they would be the first to arrive. Finally, they will opt for a strategy that seems more logical, taking into account the market in which we move.
Ebro already produces his second car: The Ebro S800.
A future marked by China
The first units have to arrive next February and production has already begun. We talk about the Toyota Ebro S800, a gasoline SUV with seven seats and the promise to position itself as one of the most affordable cars of its segment.
On his arrival in Europe and Spain, Chery has already confirmed that they would follow the plan marked by MG. This last Chinese group has a supervent in the MG4 Electric for being one of the models with Best autonomy/price ratio of the market. But your offer and muscle go much further. Aware that There is an affordable market to conqueryour options with combustion engines are numerous.
For something very similar, Chery has chosen. The omoda 5 is a compact SUV, of disruptive appearance and that has a completely electric option. But its greatest strength is in its gasoline versions. And the data says they are working well. In 2024, The omoda 5 placed 7,578 units (208 of them electric)the triple that Alfa Romeo and more units than the Hyundai i30 or the Ford Focus, for putting another two examples. All in less than a year.
Chery has also added in the last months of the year 1,099 Jaecoo units. This Chinese firm is focused on higher price segments but, again, as a cheaper option than its rivals. In our first impressions We verify that it can be a really interesting car for those who need a large car and certain capabilities Offroad.
It is now Ebro that will be added to the list to this list. The company, as such, does not belong to the Chery group but the cars that will assemble are Chinese. It is something similar to what it carries out Dr automobiles in Italy … and in Spain. It is not accidental because, in fact, the Ebro S800 is a Dr 7.0. An Italian car that, in reality, is almost identical to Chery Tiggo 8.
We could say that Ebro S800 is a very up -to -date version of these two models. On the outside, it barely measures two centimeters more than Dr 7.0 but inside the environment is much more careful and gives a greater sense of modernity. The latter achieves it with two huge screens (10.25 inches for the instrument frame and 15.6 inches for the plant) but also with compatibility with Android Auto and Apple Carplaythe sound system signed by Sony or two wireless loaders at the front.
The business, obviously, is that the effort that Ebro has to make in development is minimal. His great asset is the plant itself that Nissan had in Barcelona. In an interview with electionomista.esits managers pointed out that one of the key factors to achieve the greatest possible profitability was the association with Chery. “Part of the technological effort is put by this company, which helps us reduce costs, to make fewer investments that start from scratch and will allow us to have good profitability margins. In addition, Spain is a competitive country in working costs compared to other economies European “.
The answer gives us several clues. First, the technological effort of Ebro herself in passenger cars that launch the market is very small because we talk about remarking Chinese cars. A strategy that can be interesting to put on the market a very cheap car of seven seats with gasoline engine.
Ebro S800 part, without discounts of 36,990 euros (On its website it is already announced for 33,500 euros). With a powerful starting equipment, it is below rivals such as the Peugeot 5008, Skoda Kodiaq or Renault Espace. In fact, below it only has the aforementioned DR 7.0 and the DFSK. In both cases, Chinese cars. And later the plug -in hybrid version will arrive, a land where The Chinese car has a lot to win in Europe.
The second remarkable point is that way of emphasizing that “Spain is a competitive country in labor costs”. The lowest salaries than those of other countries in our environment and energy costs that are also lower have attracted the interest of Chinese companies such as Chery but also They have allowed Vigo and Zaragoza staying alive.
All this has two approaches. The optimistic tells us that the production of Ebro S800 is a new opportunity to maintain a new living productive plant, giving work to centers of people. The pessimist reminds us that the car is nothing more than a remarked Chinese vehicle and that it keeps Spain in the most basic industry stepthe one that manufactures the cars and not the one that develops them.
The great challenge is to make Spain part of both aspects, that it is able to develop cars and create an engineering industry at the height that contributes value to the vehicle itself. And at the same time, Do not lose purely industrial work that assembles cars and that has so much history in our country.
Photos | Ebro