Chery and Jaguar set for China JV

Chery Automobile Co and British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover have been approved to build a joint venture plant in east China.

The plant, based in Changshu, Jiangsu Province, will be capable of producing 130,000 vehicles and engines each annually, the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, said in a statement yesterday.

The project will help drive Chery into the mid and high-end market, analysts said. By partnering Chery, the British luxury car maker is seeking to increase sales in the world's largest auto market, they added.

Chery and Jaguar Land Rover, now a unit of India's Tata Motors Ltd, first announced the joint venture plan in March.

Jaguar Land Rover chose Chery because the two firms "share the same spirit," CEO Ralf Speth said in an previous interview with Shanghai Daily.