Spanish marque revived in Barcelona in 2024, four decades after Nissan retired the original Ebro truck brand. The name is held by the Catalan company EV Motors, and the cars are Chery-derived SUVs built at the former Nissan plant in the city's Zona Franca.
The Ebro s700 is a compact SUV assembled in Barcelona and derived from the second-generation Chery Tiggo 7. It is sold with a 147 CV petrol engine, a 224 CV full hybrid or a 279 CV plug-in hybrid with 90 km of electric range, from about EUR 27,641.
The Ebro s800 is a seven-seat SUV assembled in Barcelona and derived from the Chery Tiggo 8. It is sold with a 147 CV petrol engine or a 279 CV plug-in hybrid with 90 km of electric range, from about EUR 30,170.
Twelve European badges whose nationality does not match their ownership: Cupra, Vauxhall, DS, Opel, Lancia, Alpine, Abarth, MG, Ebro, DR Automobiles, smart and Leapmotor. Some are Spanish or British names owned in Germany or the Netherlands, some are revived badges on Chinese hardware, and several are assembled in a third country again.
Most European badges trace back to about five mega-groups - Volkswagen, Stellantis, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Renault. But several beloved European brands are now owned abroad, in China, India and the UAE, and a few Chinese and joint-venture names now sell under European flags. Here is who owns what in 2026.
Ebro began in 1954 as the vehicle brand of Motor Ibérica, a Barcelona company formed from Ford’s nationalised Spanish operation, and spent three decades building trucks, vans and tractors. Nissan bought into Motor Ibérica through the late 1970s and early 1980s and took full control in 1987, renaming it Nissan Motor Ibérica and shelving the Ebro badge.
The name returned in 2024. The Catalan company EV Motors holds the rights and partnered with China’s Chery to restart the former Nissan site in Barcelona’s Zona Franca as the Ebro Factory, an arrangement with roughly 400 million euros of announced investment. Assembly began in November 2024 with the s700 SUV, followed by the larger s800, the flagship s900 and a smaller s400. The range runs from petrol through self-charging hybrid to plug-in hybrid, depending on the model. The vehicles are based on Chery designs; the Catalan plant is also lined up to build Chery-badged models.
Spain remains the home market, and the first exports followed in 2026. Ebro opened a dealership in Portugal and entered Bulgaria through the Cario Group, a Sofia distributor that already handles Geely and Lynk & Co there and sells Ebro from six of its existing sites, in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Ruse, Sliven and Haskovo. Croatia and Slovenia have also been announced as target markets.
Last updated: 16 Aug 2026
