Chinese car firm Chery to open European base in Liverpool
Chinese carmaker Chery is to open a research and development headquarters in Liverpool, in a move that could pave the way for a deal for the British manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover to build its cars,State-owned Chery’s commercial vehicle arm will base the headquarters for its European operations on Merseyside, including research, engineering, and commercial functions,Chery has already made a mark in the UK car market through its Omoda and Jaecoo brands, and it is launching its eponymous brand with an advertising campaign featuring former England footballer Peter Crouch,The UK government has been working on a plan for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the country’s biggest automotive manufacturing employer, to build Chery electric vehicles in Britain,The deal was expected to form part of talks during Keir Starmer’s visit to Beijing, although no deal has been announced.
In June, Chery UK director, Victor Zhang, said the carmaker was “actively considering” building a plant in the UK as part of a “localisation” strategy.In a statement, Gong Yueqiong, the general manager of Chery Commercial Vehicle, said: “We are not just bringing products to the UK – we are building a British business.”The business secretary, Peter Kyle, has discussed the potential deal with JLR’s new chief executive, PB Balaji, according to a person with knowledge of talks.Balaji, formerly an executive in JLR’s Indian owner, Tata Motors, is thought to have said JLR would be open to the move, if it were to benefit the business, although the person added that they did not believe anything concrete had been agreed.David Bailey, a professor of business economics at the University of Birmingham, said any deal would probably involve using spare capacity at JLR’s factory in Halewood, also on Merseyside.
He said the Chery headquarters announcement was “very good news”, but cautioned that he also believed that no manufacturing deal had been finalised.“They’ve talked about localisation,” he said.“Potentially there’s scope to use the JLR spare capacity.”The Halewood factory produces smaller Land Rover variants, the Discovery Sport and the Range Rover Evoque.The factory in 2017 produced more than 200,000 vehicles, but it only produced a small fraction of that in 2025.
JLR production ground to a halt in the final quarter of last year after a cyber-attack stopped all operations for weeks.Liam Robinson, the leader of Liverpool city council, said: “Chery Commercial Vehicle’s choice of Liverpool for its commercial vehicle European base is a major vote of confidence in our city’s capabilities, our workforce and our long-term vision for clean, inclusive growth.”Ford also makes transmissions and electric drive units for vans next door to JLR, while Stellantis, the owner of brands including Vauxhall, Fiat and Peugeot, makes vans in Ellesmere Port across the River Mersey.Gong said: “Our ‘In UK, For UK, Be UK’ strategy reflects our belief that true globalisation comes from deep localisation.By recruiting local talent, collaborating with UK institutions, and adapting to local needs, we aim to become a valued contributor to the UK’s automotive industry and economy.
“Our strategy reflects our confidence in the UK’s talent, infrastructure, and commitment to green technology.”JLR declined to comment.
Lindsey Vonn airlifted from course after crash in final downhill before Olympics
Lindsey Vonn crashed out of the final World Cup downhill before the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on Friday, leaving the American skiing great limping and clutching her left knee as organizers abandoned the race amid worsening conditions.The 41-year-old lost control after landing a jump on the upper section of the course in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, skidding sideways into the safety netting as snow fell steadily and visibility deteriorated. Vonn’s airbag deployed on impact and she remained down for several moments while medical staff attended to her on the piste.Vonn eventually stood and was able to ski away, but did so gingerly. She repeatedly took weight off her left leg, using her poles to steady herself, and stopped several times on the run down to check her knee
Your Guardian sport weekend: Australian Open finals, Premier League and T20 cricket
Stuart Goodwin and Emillia Hawkins kickstart the weekend’s football programme with our unmissable rolling blog that rises early to provide all the breaking news and vibes from around the grounds. There’ll be buildup to Saturday’s five Premier League matches, a full Championship and lower-division programme, plus plenty of swirl around the Bundesliga and La Liga, with Bayern Munich and Barcelona in action. Why not join the conversation by sending your thoughts and observations to matchday.live@theguardian.com?Last year’s final brought heartache for Aryna Sabalenka but her consistency since the start of 2025 has been impressive, with the world No 1 reaching the final at nine of the 16 events she contested
Galopin chases Gold Cup glory but waits on Leopardstown inspection
Prospects for the most valuable and significant weekend of racing in the run-up to the Cheltenham festival in March remained in the balance on Friday evening after both Leopardstown and Sandown called inspections for Saturday morning due to fears of overnight rain.Leopardstown has had nearly 200mm of rain over the last two weeks ahead of the Dublin Racing Festival, which is due to stage eight Grade One races over the weekend. Paddy Graffin, Leopardstown’s clerk of the course, will inspect at 8am.“We’ve had a look at a fresh line of the hurdle track right out beside the chase track,” Graffin said on Friday. “In my opinion, this line is currently fit to race despite 22mm of rain last night
Novak Djokovic stuns Jannik Sinner in five sets: Australian Open 2026 semi-final – as it happened
So on Sunday history will be made one way or the other, with Djokovic going for No 25 and Alcaraz going for the career slam. Djokovic did defeat Alcaraz in the Australian Open quarter-finals last year – but Alcaraz got his revenge in the US Open semi-finals, on his way to the title. But trying to break down and predict the final is a perilous job after what we’ve witnessed today. And is probably more than I can attempt to do after hours and hours and hours of typing. Many thanks for your company and contributions today, do join me again tomorrow for Sabalenka v Rybakina in the women’s final
Djokovic shocks Sinner in late-night thriller to reach Australian Open final
At 1.33am on Saturday morning in Melbourne, four hours and nine minutes after his night shift had begun, Novak Djokovic collapsed to the floor with his arms aloft and stared up to the skies in utter disbelief. While Djokovic would normally reserve his most exuberant celebrations for triumphant finals, in truth this result was an even greater achievement than some of his victories in majors.The Serb is 38, an age at which most players are long finished, yet somehow he is still competing for the biggest titles. On Rod Laver Arena, the most important stage of his career, he pulled off perhaps his greatest upset, recovering from two sets to one down to topple Jannik Sinner, the two-time defending champion and second seed, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to return to the final of the Australian Open
Ten to watch: the athletes who can bring glory to Australia at the 2026 Winter Olympics | Martin Pegan
Australia’s 53-strong team is the second largest sent to a Winter Olympics and recent results suggest that will be more than enough to land a record medal haul in Milano Cortina. Five of Australia’s six medallists from the past two Games, including defending moguls champion Jakara Anthony, will return in 2026 and be among at least 10 genuine podium chances.The Beijing 2022 team secured Australia’s greatest Winter Olympics tally with four medals – one gold, two silver and a bronze – but there are high hopes that record will be shattered after 11 athletes won 26 medals across seven disciplines during the current World Cup season. Here are Australia’s main medal hopes (in alphabetical order) to watch when Milano Cortina 2026 begins on 6 February.The defending Olympic moguls champion is out to become the first Australian to win successive winter gold medals and arrives in Milano Cortina in white-hot form
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