Chery Mulls London HQ for Jaecoo as Brands Go Global

Chery Group is exploring relocating some of its brand headquarters out of China, with London under discussion as the base for its Jaecoo off-road-inspired brand. The idea was raised by Zhang Guibing, executive vice president of Chery Auto and president of Chery International, during a media round table at the Chery Group User Summit in Wuhu.

"Now we want to put some brand headquarters not just in China, but outside of China," Zhang said. "Today, with Jaecoo, many people think we need to put the Jaecoo brand headquarters in London. And the Omoda brand should be placed more in younger-generation societies."

Jaecoo launched in the UK in January 2025, five months after sister brand Omoda, and together the two brands have surpassed 100,000 UK sales in under two years. The Jaecoo 7 was the UK’s best-selling new car in September 2026 with around 10,800 registrations, and with nearly 39,500 sold in the first nine months it ranks as the second-best-selling car in the UK this year.

Why Leave Wuhu?

All of Chery’s brands are currently managed from Wuhu in Anhui province, where the company is headquartered. Zhang warned that keeping them all there would become a liability as the group grows outside China.

"We want to really change the situation, so it’s not just Wuhu. If all the brands stay in Wuhu, they will face problems in the next step," he said. "It is difficult to say every country will like every brand. But if people in one country really like one, two or a maximum of three of our brands, I think that is very good."

The same logic could apply within a single market. Zhang suggested some brands could be based in Sydney while others operate from different Australian cities, minimizing internal competition.

Brands Run by Their Own Teams

The headquarters plan is part of a broader organizational shift. Chery now runs nine brands, each with its own R&D, sales and marketing teams. Zhang says he deliberately stays out of brand-level decisions.

"The R&D people for each brand are completely separated, because we want the people from R&D through to sales and marketing to be from the same customer group as the brand. That way the people are closer to the customers and understand them better," he explained. "Most of the brand activities, I don’t participate in, because I’m not in that customer group. If I make too many decisions, sometimes they will be wrong."

Zhang added that Chery’s brands will increasingly need to differentiate on image rather than hardware. "Most products in the market are now very similar. The big difference in the future is the brand image, the emotion. We hope people buy our products not just because of the product, but because they feel close to the brand."

No timeline has been set for any relocation, and Chery has not formally confirmed London as Jaecoo’s future base.