Chinese manufacturer Chery Group to enter Le Mans

Chinese automotive monolith the Chery Group, have just forged a 5-year partnership with the organisers of the iconic 24hrs of Le Mans, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest.

The deal makes it the first Chinese manufacturer to enter an agreement with such a large and renowned global motorsport entity.

The century-old Le Mans is considered one of the pinnacles of motorsport

Far from an advertising ploy, the manufacturer will deploy the partnership using their prestige brand Exeed, which over the course of the alliance will enter the century-old race as a competitor.

It will also lead the charge in developing and competing in a domestic endurance racing series within China to grow talent and local capability. Notably, the alliance will work together to build a Le Mans-certified circuit in the brands' headquarter city, Wuhu.

There have been rumours of the Exeed brand entering Australia to provide a more upmarket offerring, augmenting the Chery brand which occupies a budget conscious segment. A glance at the suite of vehicles marketed by the brand reveal a range of SUV's and a sedan featuring hybrid and battery electric powertains. As such, it's unclear at this stage what platform or class it will compete in.

Chery state their vision is to put their combined 28-years of engineering experience to the test on the world stage, using the learnings to inspire the next generation of production vehicles.

These are exciting developments that will see improved reach of the endurance racing series into a sizeable and wealthy audience. I also see opportunity for what has been a heavily electric-driven Chinese market to spread their wings into more traditional performance product lines.