Chery's global push includes London headquarters for one of its brands

Chery is considering basing some of its brands outside China, with London raised as a possible headquarters for Jaecoo.

Speaking to Australian media, including CarExpert, in Wuhu, Chery International president Zhang Guibing said he wanted the group to establish brand headquarters in different countries as its overseas business grows.

“We want to put some of the brand headquarters, not just in China, outside China,” Mr Zhang said.

“Such as now today Jaecoo, many people [are] thinking we need to put the Jaecoo brand's headquarters maybe in London.”

Mr Zhang also suggested locating Omoda somewhere with a younger customer base, without naming a city. He didn’t announce a relocation timetable for either brand.

His concern was what would happen if the brands continued to be concentrated in Chery’s home city.

“We are thinking Wuhu, if all the brands are just in Wuhu, the next step they will face problems,” Mr Zhang said.

“So we want to put the different brand headquarters in the worldwide different countries.”

There's precedent for this, with Nissan shifting the headquarters of its luxury Infiniti brand to Hong Kong in 2012 as it expanded its global presence. However, Infiniti's headquarters were subsequently returned to Japan in 2020.

On a smaller scale, General Motors moved the headquarters of its luxury Cadillac brand to New York City, giving it geographic separation from other GM brands albeit still in the same country. This also only lasted a few years, from 2015 to 2019.

Mr Zhang’s overseas headquarters proposal follows a broader effort to give individual brand teams more authority. He said teams covering development, sales, and marketing should understand the customers they’re trying to attract.

“So if sometimes I make too many decisions, it’s wrong,” he said.

“So I will leave more power to the different brand groups. So they will make their own decision how to really make the customer happy because they will understand the customers.”

Jaecoo’s British business has grown quickly since its January 2025 launch. The Jaecoo 7 recorded 10,814 registrations in the United Kingdom in September 2026, making it the country’s best-selling new car that month. The SUV is sold here as the Jaecoo J7.

Omoda and Jaecoo together registered 22,298 vehicles in the UK in September, more than double their total a year earlier, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Chery has already announced a UK research and development centre at the UTAC Millbrook proving ground in Bedfordshire, due to open later in 2026. Its initial work will cover chassis development and driver-assistance tuning for cars sold in the UK.

Separately, Chery Commercial Vehicle announced plans in January for a European headquarters in Liverpool, supporting research, engineering, and commercial development. That is a regional base for its commercial-vehicle business; the Jaecoo discussion concerns the headquarters of an individual car brand.

In August 2024, Mr Zhang told CarExpert the group wanted brands aimed at different customer groups, with Jaecoo and Exeed among those discussed at the time.

Chery’s Australian expansion now encompasses nine names: Chery, Omoda, Jaecoo, Jetour, iCaur, Lepas, Exlantix, Luxeed, and Freelander. Luxeed is the latest to confirm its plans, with an arrival expected in the second quarter of 2027.

Omoda and Jaecoo operate together in Australia. Mr Zhang also discussed placing different brands’ Australian headquarters in Sydney and other cities, including Melbourne, and confirmed plans for a local R&D centre to draw on Australian expertise.

Freelander is already building its own Melbourne-based Australian team. Local boss Kym Mellow told CarExpert the brand is targeting around 25 dealers for its 2027 launch, led by the Freelander 8 SUV.

The new SUV brand expects to use Chery’s existing parts and vehicle distribution infrastructure. Although the brand was jointly established by Chery and JLR, Mr Mellow said JLR wouldn’t be involved in running the Australian operation.

Lepas is following a similar approach to shared support. Chery has outlined a separate Lepas sales network backed by existing infrastructure, with some existing dealerships to act as service agents.

MORE: Explore the Omoda Jaecoo showroom