Cumulative Investment in Ebro and Chery’s Barcelona Plant Exceeds €150 Million
Key Facts
Cumulative investment by the Ebro and Chery alliance in converting its Barcelona plant has exceeded €150 million since the facility began operations, according to a report by Spanish investment agency ICEX published on July 2, 2026. The figure reflects cumulative spending on the plant’s conversion, not an announcement of new investment on October 26. The report highlighted the M1 production line as an operational addition giving the plant extra capacity of 250 cars a day. The agency said this capacity “triples the previous level.” The expansion is part of a plan to equip the facility to produce multiple models and increase its annual capacity during 2026.
Ownership of the alliance is split between the Spanish company, with 60%, and Chery, with 40%, according to ICEX. The structure gives the Spanish partner the larger stake, while the Chinese company remains a partner in the industrial project. The plant is designed to produce up to 5 different models, the report said. The company was making 4 models when Ebro’s chairman spoke in May, according to Reuters, while the facility’s design allows it to accommodate an additional model. These figures show the planned scope of product expansion, alongside increased car manufacturing capacity in Barcelona.
The M1 line is about 696 meters long, with 97 workstations, each 7 meters long, according to ICEX. More than 200 robots take part in industrial operations inside the plant. The report estimated total production time per car at about 1 hour and 15 minutes. The agency said the production line adds 250 cars a day, equivalent to three times the previous capacity. These specifications indicate the scale of the operational infrastructure added with the line, while the plan aims to have the plant ready to produce up to 50,000 cars a year by the end of 2026.
The Ebro plant had about 1,530 employees in the ICEX report, while Ebro Motors Group had 2,045 employees, including more than 420 engineers. EFE said the M1 line’s launch added 350 jobs, 200 of them dedicated entirely to manufacturing. In his May remarks, Ebro’s chairman said the plant directly employed 1,600 people and could reach maximum capacity of 200,000 cars a year. These figures differ in date and scope: some refer to the plant or the group, while others came from an earlier statement on employment and maximum capacity. They therefore do not represent a single estimate of current employment or operating capacity.
Company statements put the 2026 manufacturing target in Barcelona at between 25,000 and 30,000 cars, according to Reuters in May. Ebro’s chairman said reaching that range could double the number of cars sold compared with the previous year. The company sold about 14,000 cars in 2025, according to the same statement. This annual target is closer to the production plan for the current year, while capacity of 50,000 cars a year represents the level the plant aims to be ready for by the end of 2026. Reuters also reported that the alliance aims to produce up to 150,000 cars a year by 2029, a separate future target from the capacity the plant plans to reach by the end of this year.
The production expansion comes as plug-in hybrid cars post growth in the Spanish market. Registrations rose 34.7% in the first nine months of 2026, according to ACEA data. The agency said Italy recorded growth of 72.4% and Germany 13.7% in the same category over the same period. These figures provide context for the growth of electrified cars in major European markets, while the Barcelona plan focuses on increasing plant output and broadening the range of models it can make. A Chery official said in February, according to Reuters, that the company planned to use the plant to export to Latin America.
Operationally, EFE reported that the M1 line makes the EBRO s400 and s700 models with all available powertrains, while the M0 line continues to produce the s800 and s900. This means the expansion adds a line serving two specific models, while production of the other two continues on the existing line. Shares of 9973.HK closed at 23.38 Hong Kong dollars on October 23, 2026, according to EL7 data. Available data do not include the session’s high and low prices. ACEA is scheduled to publish European passenger-car registration figures for October on November 24, 2026.