China's Jetour weighs shared factory arrangement for Brazil car production

By Alberto Alerigi

SAO PAULO, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Chinese automaker Jetour, part of the Chery group, is evaluating options for production in Brazil, including sharing idle factory space with manufacturers already present in the country, an executive told Reuters.

• Henrique Sampaio, Jetour Brazil's marketing director, said it could be done in partnership with another brand, similar to an arrangement the company has with Nissan in South Africa.

• He declined to say whether Jetour was negotiating to occupy an idle CAOA Chery factory in Jacarei, shuttered since 2022.

• Jetour has sold 4,000 vehicles since entering Brazil in March, mostly large hybrid sport-utility vehicles.

• It plans to invest 400 million reais ($78 million) in the country by end-2027, not including any potential local production costs.

• Jetour has about 60 dealerships in Brazil, the world's sixth-largest vehicle market where total sales are expected at just under 3 million units this year, and aims to reach 100 by end-2026.

• Chinese automakers have expanded rapidly in Brazil, gaining market share with lower-priced electric and hybrid models and intensifying competition.

($1 = 5.1242 reais)

(Reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr.; Writing by Gabriel Araujo, editing by Andrei Khalip)