Automotive News – Late January 2026
Estimated reading time 2 minutes
Based on UK Government-backed proposals, Chinese car brand Chery could start using a Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plant in the UK for production of its own cars.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is looking to discuss the proposals during his upcoming visit to China, the Financial Times has reported. Plans involve an agreement for the Chinese car manufacturer to use a JLR site to build Chery cars in the UK, as per FT’s sources.
Sources also disclosed that the government has been in discussions with Chery for the past few years to try and have the manufacturer bring production of its vehicles to the UK.
Sourced from TheBusinessDesk
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Electric motorcycle manufacturer Maeving has secured £11m in funding to expand overseas sales, with support from the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund (WMCO) and private investors.
The funding aims to help the Coventry-based company grow its presence in North America and Europe.
The investment package includes backing from WMCO, led by Mayor Richard Parker, alongside Venrex, Future Planet Capital, Elbow Beach Capital, and angel investors including John Ayton MBE and Simon Hill-Norton.
HSBC is providing a £3m working capital facility. The funding complements more than £1.1m in grant support from Innovate UK and the Advanced Propulsion Centre for the development of Maeving’s pipeline electric motorcycle technology.
Sourced from TheBusinessDesk
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Tough year for Auto but new models and Industrial Strategy can deliver growth.
- Vehicle production down -15.5% in 2025 as 764,715 cars and commercial vehicles leave factories.
- Car output falls -8.0% while CV volumes decline -62.3% as industry restructures amid cyber incident and tariff uncertainties.
- December car growth signals optimism for 2026, driven by new EV models entering production, with opportunity to produce one million vehicles by 2027 if conditions are right.
- Sector calls for government to deliver Industrial and Trade Strategies, to improve manufacturing competitiveness and unlock growth potential.
Sourced from SMMT
