Chery believes that China can get the same quality as Europeans in half of time. And in Spain it is working

Speed ​​and adaptability. Those are two of the pillars on which Chery’s strategy is based on Europe. The company has broken into the Spanish market with force despite having a handful of models distributed among three different companies.

Lilian Xiong, Vice President of Chery, explains why these Chinese brands have managed to advance so fast.

“We need three or four years”. That is time, according to Xiong, those who need to build a car like omoda 9 “since we design the initial concept until we have the model.” Words pick them up Business Insider in an interview with the board.

In it, he explains that his ability to adapt and speed are two of the great differences that exist with Europeans. And, in fact, The round trip between Europe and China It is a good example of how this is happening. While in Europe, Chinese cars do not stop gaining land, in China the western ones lose it by Not knowing how to adapt to the tastes of the local market.

We know what they are talking about. As we explain when Xiaomi presented its novel interior For the Xiaomi Yu7, in Xataka We have had the opportunity to know the speed with which Chinese brands work.

In informal talks, workers of these companies have explained that the proposals that in European groups would extend for years here apply it in a few months. We know that some cars have arrived in versions of preiest very little adjusted to what the Spanish public claims and shortly after they have presented themselves to the press and have put themselves in the concessionaires with the suspension and the refined direction. Components have even changed in the vehicle itself.

Adaptation. That ability to adapt is another of the great advantages that Chinese cars are offering. Chery cars (omoda, Jaecoo and Ebro) are being refined in Europe to adapt to what the European public expects. Xiong points out that for that, its Barcelona plant is key since they did a previous job before confirming the landing.

But not just them, Leapmotor is refining her cars in BaloccoAlfa Romeo’s house, to put cars that do not small suspensions and extraordinarily soft directions, as is the case in China. Also byd has proposed to do the same using Your Hungary plant and the new departments that Xpeng is opening in Germany They also point to that address.

The software. Another key piece to attract the public is that cars begin to be defined by the software and not so much for the hardware. “Before producing a car was based on the assembly of pieces. Now they are much more important elements such as software, which will mark a great change in industry,” says Xiong in the interview.

This, in a market where the car has increased and interior materials are no longer as luxurious as before, it is key. You just have to get on board the Omoda 5 To verify that the quality of its camera is much better than that of European rivals despite having a lower cost. Or what OMODA 9 equipment is very wide (Electric seats, heated and ventilated with massage, speakers integrated in the headrests, 14 speakers Sony equipment …) offering better impression than most of its rivals.

It shows in the price. That approach of focusing on the software and not so much on the hardware, understood as the body and the vehicle’s chassis, is not unique to Chery. Specialists in riding and disassembling cars They already alerted Toyota a few months ago that his way of working was becoming obsolete.

The problem is that the Japanese had taken an extreme care in Perfect even the unspeakable carspaying maximum attention to every detail. However, Byd or Tesla saved many pieces, kilos and money in their vehicles because they use greater number of plastic components instead of heavy metals. Without vibrations of the combustion engine, the dashboard parts were subjected to less stress.

And also in time. All this allows them to reduce the price and increase the profit margin thanks to a less complex and faster production. Focusing “what is seen” more than in the bowels of the vehicle is a decision that is conquering the public.

In what we have been, the Chery group has enrolled in Spain more than 11,000 cars, which places them at the same level as Opel and begin to approach Ford or Citroën. However, all of the above are marks settled while Omoda arrived with 2024 already startedJaecoo did not do the same until second half of the year and Ebro only has a handful of months Selling their cars in our country.

And, above all, they have managed to add more than 11,000 registrations between January and May despite the fact that until the arrival of omoda 9 and the Ebro S800 They had more than three cars in the market (one for each of them) and they are still a newcomer company. So newcomer that, in fact, omoda is only three years behind.

Photo | Omoda

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