Chery eyes Le Mans entry with Exeed brand - reports

With multiple Chinese manufacturers currently believed to be taking a strong look at entering the FIA WEC's Hypercar class in the coming years, how serious are these prospects, and which OEM is most likely to green-light a program?

Reports have emerged on Monday from the region that Chery, founded in 1997, plans to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours in the next five years under the Exeed brand. The stories cite "a strategic cooperation agreement with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (A.C.O)” which has supposedly been signed, and a “Road To Le Mans” initiative.

The roadmap supposedly includes talent development, the construction of a “Le Mans-certified track” in Wuhu, China, entry into the Asian Le Mans Series, and, ultimately, a debut in the Le Mans 24 Hours with an established “Exeed Le Mans Team”.

It is not clear at this stage which route Chery/Exeed would take to Le Mans (IE, LMH, LMDh or GT3). To compete in the Asian Le Mans Series, for instance, it has many options, such as developing a brand-new GT3 car, rebadging a current prototype (like Aurus and Alpine did in the past with the ORECA 07), operating as Genesis did with IDEC Sport in the ELMS this year, or debuting a Hypercar in the ACO’s Asian series to become eligible to compete.

This report on Chery tallies with paddock gossip that RACER has caught wind of in recent months. But a degree of caution is warranted.

RACER believes that multiple meetings between Chery and the FIA WEC organisers about a prospective Hypercar effort have already taken place, with the most recent gathering occurring last weekend during the Asian Le Mans Series event in Sepang.

However, at this stage, Chery’s current status should be considered ‘interested’ rather than ‘committed’ according to a key senior source, with the brand described as inquisitive, but not yet close to making its ambitions a reality.

RACER also understands that there is no formal “strategic cooperation agreement with the ACO”, as the reports suggest.