Inspired by the success of newcomers such as Kia Motors and MG Motor in the Indian market, China’s Great Wall Motors (branded as ‘GWM’) had put a big stall at the Auto Expo earlier this year. The company has now signed an MoU with the Maharashtra government to set-up a manufacturing facility in Talegaon, a town in the Pune district.
However, this will not be an all-new plant. GWM will acquire GM’s plant in the aforementioned town and is expected to modernize it. In January this year, GWM signed an agreement to acquire this plant from GM. The factory has facilities such as a logistics distribution center, training center, project management building, administrative office building and a few more amenities.
Just to remind, GM had quit the Indian market in 2017 and its Halol plant in Gujarat was acquired by SAIC-owned MG Motor. The Talegaon plant in Maharashtra was focusing mainly on exports.
Along with the plant, GWM will also set-up an R&D facility in Bengaluru, Karnataka, which together are claimed to generate employment for over 3,000 people in a phased manner.
File Photo
GWM is expected to introduce its Haval brand in India, which sells SUVs in different segments.
The MoU was signed via an online meeting in the presence of Uddhav Thackeray – Chief Minister of Maharashtra; Parker Shi – Managing Director, GWM India; Sun Weidong – Chinese Ambassador; and Subhash Desai – Minister of Industries, Govt. of Maharashtra.
We would like to thank the Maharashtra government for extending full support and helping us foster a long and mutually beneficial cooperation that hopefully will turn out to be a great business proposition for both. This would be a highly automated plant in Talegaon with advanced robotics technology integrated into many of the production processes. Overall we are committed to US$ 1 billion of investment in India in a phased manner, which is directed towards manufacturing world class intelligent & premium products, R&D centre, building supply chain and providing jobs to over 3,000 people in a phased manner. – Parker Shi
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