Chery Outlines Out Five-Year Roadmap for Le Mans Debut

Image: Chery

Chinese automaker Chery has laid out a five-year roadmap aimed to bring its premium brand EXEED to the FIA World Endurance Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Officials from Chery Group met with ACO President Pierre Fillon, Le Mans Endurance Management boss Frederic Lequein and ACO competition director Thierry Bouvet during the recent Asian Le Mans Series season-opener in Sepang, with the Chinese company claiming to have entered a “partnership” and “full-scale collaboration” with the ACO.

The agreement, which Chery says was signed on Dec. 13, would see Chery launch a ‘Road to Le Mans’ motorsport program, through three stages, the first by establishing a domestic endurance series to “build technical capability and talent.”

It will then be followed up by an entry in the Asian Le Mans Series, before fielding a factory team, under the EXEED nameplate, that would contest the WEC and become the first Chinese manufacturer to compete in the French endurance classic.

Additionally, Chery claims that as part of its agreement with the ACO, they will work together to develop a Le Mans-certified circuit in Wuhu, China, Chery’s headquarters city, to support motorsport development.

According to the release from the automaker, the partnership is focused on “technology development rather than branding alone, with data and learnings from endurance racing feeding directly into future production vehicles, including improvements in powertrain efficiency, durability and reliability.”

It added: “The Le Mans program represents Chery’s broader ambition to transition from vehicle exporter to a global automotive technology player, using motorsport as a proving ground for next-generation innovation.”

The ACO has yet to comment on the so-called “partnership” which as up until now, is believed to have never been undertaken directly with an OEM.

Founded in 1997, Chery is a major Chinese state-owned automotive manufacturer and is currently the fourth largest automaker in the nation and has a number of joint ventures, including with Jaguar Land Rover.

Its only previous motorsport involvement came in the Dakar Rally in 2010-11.

The EXEED brand is currently sold in China, Russia, the Middle East and in South America, with plans to expand into Europe within the next two years.

Source: Sports Car 365