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Chinese car giant Chery has announced it will build a research and development centre in Britain this year as demand for its vehicles continues to grow at a staggering rate.

Chery Group owns not just the Chery brand, but also popular marques Jaecoo – maker of the Jaecoo 7 'Temu Range Rover' – and Omoda.

Last month, its sales were enough to capture 8 per cent of the UK's new-car market, such has been the success of the company's launch over the last two years.

And it has recently added a fifth brand to its stable with the launch of Lepas, which is said to be designed specifically for European markets.

The new R&D facility, which will be located at vehicle development and testing centre UTAC Millbrook in Bedfordshire, is set to open in late autumn 2026, the firm confirmed.

The facility was 'the next step in our long-term plan for the UK', Gary Lan, CEO of Chery International UK, said in a statement on Wednesday.

'We waited over 20 years for the right time to enter this market, and our ambition has always gone much further than simply bringing vehicles here.'

The move follows a recent agreement with Nissan UK to explore manufacturing Chery vehicles for the UK market at the Japanese manufacturer's Sunderland facility, which has not been running at full capacity due to a downturn in demand for its cars.

Chinese car giant Chery has announced it will build a research and development centre in Bedfordshire this year as demand for its vehicles in the UK continues to grow at pace

Chinese car brands now account for around 15 per cent of new cars entering Britain's roads in the first half of this year, according to the latest official registrations data.

SAIC Motor's MG is the best seller.

Between January and the end of July, the reborn MG brand delivered 55,944 units in Britain, representing a 4.3 per cent market share.

The world's biggest EV maker, BYD, has also increased its UK sales to 44,398 units in 2026, which is 3.4 per cent of all new cars bought by Britons.

Jaecoo (3 per cent), Omoda (1.7 per cent) and Chery (1.6 per cent) have received UK orders for almost 83,000 cars already this year.

The facility was 'the next step in our long-term plan for the UK', Gary Lan, CEO of Chery International UK, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Workers assembling vehicles at the Chery Smart Manufacturing Plant in Wuhu, Anhui Province of China, earlier this month

Peter Crouch and wife Abbey Clancy currently star in Chery’s 'Get Carried Away' advertising campaign launched in Britain in January

Chery said the Bedfordshire centre's initial focus will be on developing vehicle chassis and driver-assistance systems tailored to British drivers, before eventually expanding into autonomous driving and AI.

'UTAC Millbrook allows us to turn UK customer insight into product development, from ride and steering to active safety systems,' Lan added.

The company has not specified how much it would invest in the new facility, or how many jobs may be created.

'This is about much more than testing individual vehicles. We see this as the sustained momentum of a long-term engineering relationship with Chery Automobile,' said Kirsty Andrew, vice president of UTAC UK.

Peter Crouch and wife Abbey Clancy currently star in Chery’s 'Get Carried Away' advertising campaign launched in Britain in January.