Quick look
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Chery has signed a 5-year strategic partnership with the ACO as a start on the ‘Road of Le Mans’.
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Using its EXEED brand, it will progress in 3 stages, culminating in a factory entry at the world-famous endurance classic.
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The automaker will be the fifth one from Asia to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans which is part of the World Endurance Championship.
The Chery Group will be the first Chinese automotive group to have an involvement in the classic Le Mans endurance event. This follows the signing of an agreement between Chery’s premium brand EXEED and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), the organiser of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in Kuala Lumpur recently.
5-year motorsport program
The agreement forms the basis of a strategic 5-year partnership which will put Chery on the ‘Road of Le Mans’ with a program that brings the automaker into top-tier global motorsport. Widely regarded as one of the 3 pinnacles of world motorsport alongside Formula 1 and the World Rally Championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is considered the ultimate test of automotive performance, durability and efficiency.
Under the 5-year plan, EXEED will progress through 3 stages:
- Establish a domestic endurance racing series in China to build technical capability and talent;
- Compete in the Asian Le Mans Series; and
- Form an EXEED factory team to contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans, aiming to become the first Chinese manufacturer team to do so.
Le Mans-certified circuit in China
As part of the agreement, Chery and ACO will also work together to develop a Le Mans-certified circuit in Wuhu, Chery’s home city, to support motorsport development and fan engagement in China.
Chery said the partnership is focused on technology development rather than branding alone. Like other automakers that go racing, data and learnings from endurance racing will be shared with engineers developing future production vehicles. The extreme conditions of competition will help to improve powertrain efficiency, durability and reliability.
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.
Asian automakers at Le Mans
Chery will be among just five Asian automakers to participate in the Le Mans endurance race which began in 1923.
The first was Mazda, in 1970, with a Belgian privateer who drove a Mazda-provided car mounted powered by a rotary engine. In 1974, Mazda Auto Tokyo (later becoming MazdaSpeed), with the support of its importers in France, took on the Le Mans challenge. From 1981, the team partnered with Tom Walkinshaw Racing in the UK to compete in Le Mans with British and Australian drivers.
From 1989 onwards, when Mazda began to aim for higher finishes using its 4-rotor engine, the team had more than 100 drivers and staff, including members from Japan, the UK, France, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, Sweden, and Brazil.
The 1991 event saw history being made when Mazda became the first Japanese and Asian automaker to win the Le Mans. The win with the 787B, powered by a rotary engine, was also the only victory for a car using a non-piston engine in the event’s history. However, the rotary engine was subsequently banned from Le Mans competition (as part of a broader shift in the FIA regulations).
Nissan appeared at Le Mans in 1986 with 2 cars and from the 1990s onwards, its NISMO competition division began developing more powerful and competitive cars. Toyota started going to Le Mans in 1985, represented by the TOMs team.
By 1989, Toyota had committed to a full season of racing in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), which the Le Mans race is part of. It made a big impression on the championship by securing its best-ever position (sixth) at Le Mans.
Japan’s No.1 automaker persevered at the Le Mans race, especially since Akio Toyoda (now Chairman) was personally enthusiastic about motorsport. The first win came in 2018, the culmination of decades of effort, with the team securing another 1-2 in 2019, and adding 3 more wins in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
This year’s event saw Genesis, the Hyundai Motor Group’s premium luxury brand, making an appearance for the first time. However, it did not race competitively and was preparing for the 2026 WEC season with the GMR-001 Hypercar.
