Cambodia: Chery Holding, giant Chinese automobile manufacturer, has expressed interest in investing in the Kingdom

On Friday morning, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet received Xu Hui, Deputy General Manager of the Chery Holding Group Co., Ltd., at the Peace Palace.

Chery Automobile has the distinction of being the first Chinese automobile brand to exceed one million domestic sales. Furthermore, Chery Automobile has been a pioneer in the expansion of its operations into international markets

During the meeting, Xu Hui informed the Prime Minister that Chery Holding Group Co., Ltd operates in a number of sectors, including automotive and parts manufacturing, shipbuilding, and port construction. Furthermore, he revealed that the company intends to invest in Cambodia's automotive and parts manufacturing sectors, with the objective of supplying the domestic, regional and international markets. Furthermore, the company is investigating additional prospective projects, including vocational training initiatives.

For his part, Prime Minister Hun Manet expressed his welcome at the company's interest in seeking investment opportunities in Cambodia. He highlighted that the Royal Government of Cambodia places a strong emphasis on the automotive and parts manufacturing sectors to meet domestic demand and facilitate exports, given Cambodia's free trade agreements within both bilateral and multilateral frameworks.

On this occasion, Samdech Thipadei encouraged Chery Holding Group Co., Ltd to further explore Cambodia's investment potential, particularly in special economic zones and port construction in key provinces, through discussions with relevant ministries, institutions, and the private sector in Cambodia.

Chery Automobile Co. Ltd., trading as Chery (Chinese: 奇瑞; pinyin: Qíruì), is a Chinese automobile manufacturer and brand headquartered in Wuhu, Anhui, and owned by the Wuhu municipal government.

In 1999, Chery launched its inaugural vehicle, the Fengyun, utilising a licensed SEAT chassis. In its early years, Chery employed a range of technologies from other manufacturers, including licensed products and reverse-engineered solutions. This resulted in litigation in 2003, initiated by General Motors, which alleged that Chery had copied the design of one of its cars. Chery has since developed and improved its own technologies. Since 2006, Chery has been manufacturing its own engines, branded as ACTECO, which it also sells to other manufacturers.

The company commenced exporting cars from China in 2001, at an earlier stage than other Chinese manufacturers, and subsequently became the leading exporter of Chinese brand passenger vehicles in 2003. Chery invests significantly more heavily in overseas markets than other Chinese manufacturers. Many of its vehicles are assembled outside China using either complete or semi-complete knock-down kits.

Chery Holding, giant Chinese automobile manufacturer, has expressed interest in investing in the Kingdom

Chery has adopted a multi-brand strategy, establishing numerous car brands for different market segments. As of 2024, the company has eight active brands, including the main Chery brand (with Chery Fulwin and Chery New Energy sub-brands for plug-in hybrid and electric cars respectively), Exeed for premium vehicles, Luxeed as a collaborative electric car brand with Huawei, Jetour that focuses on SUVs, iCar for electric SUVs, Karry for commercial vehicles, and Omoda/Jaecoo for export markets. Furthermore, the company has a joint venture with JLR, called Chery Jaguar Land Rover, which was established in 2012 with the objective of producing Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles in China.