Chinese Automaker SAIC MG Planning To Produce Electric Cars In Europe

The Chinese car group SAIC is actively looking for a location for the production of electric cars in Europe. The company has confirmed that it is currently working towards starting the production of electric cars on our continent.

While Europe’s big automakers are finding it increasingly difficult to break into the Chinese market after decades of expansion, state-owned Chinese automaker SAIC is heading in the opposite direction. The company wants to expand to Europe and is therefore planning to set up local production sites.

SAIC Wants Good Conditions For The Plant In the EU

SAIC had already announced corresponding plans in 2019 but linked them to the condition that they only want to set up local production in Europe if the continent sells 100,000 vehicles a year. This goal was achieved for the first time in 2022, after all, SAIC sold a good 114,000 e-cars in Europe within a year.

Yu De, the manager responsible for SAIC’s international business, confirmed the plans to the newspaper Caixin and explained that a plant in Europe would make economic sense if the number of vehicles produced was 100,000 or more per year. High-ranking representatives of the group have therefore already made several trips to various European countries this year to check the situation on site and to hold preparatory talks.

It is currently still unclear which countries are possible locations for an electric car plant by SAIC in Europe. A SAIC executive was also part of the business delegation that accompanied Chinese Premier Qi on his recent trip to Germany and France. SAIC is best known in this country for its cars from the former British brand MG. Around 70 percent of the vehicles manufactured by SAIC that were sold in Europe in 2022 were MGs.