Chinese cars to be built in Britain for the first time

Nissan has agreed in principle to use spare capacity at its Sunderland plant to build Chery’s Jaecoo and Omoda models in the UK from next year, a non-binding deal still subject to final talks. The move would mark the first time Chinese-branded cars are manufactured in Britain, helping shore up Nissan’s underused 500,000‑capacity Sunderland factory (recent output roughly half that level) and supporting local jobs. The development highlights intensifying competition from fast-growing, low‑priced Chinese brands—Jaecoo sales jumped from ~4.3k to 22.8k year‑to‑date, while BYD and Omoda also saw strong gains—putting pressure on incumbent automakers. Market impact is concentrated on UK industrial and auto-sector sentiment and could modestly affect the UK 100 through supplier and manufacturing exposure, while signaling further supply‑chain and pricing pressure across European auto markets.