Great Wall Motor wants to set up manufacturing in India by acquiring GM’s Talegaon plant
Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motor, established in 1984, is currently the largest SUV and pick-up truck manufacturer. It established a R&D centre in Bengaluru in June 2016.
Chinese SUV and pick-up truck maker Great Wall Motor is considering to set up a manufacturing base at Foton acquired land in Chakan near Pune. A report in ET Auto adds that the manufacturer is planning to invest close to Rs 7,000 crore in India.
Great Wall Motor already has an Indian subsidy operational in India (Gurugram) and it is now planning to create another corporate entity to benefit from the reduced corporate tax. Senior management executives from the company have written to the Prime Minister’s Office and are expected to meet early next month.
Maharashtra is not the only state where the company is eying to set up a manufacturing facility. It is also considering Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
The Indian facility will be only Great Wall’s second manufacturing facility outside China with the other being in Tula, Russia.
Of these, General Motors’ Talegaon facility in Maharashtra is another facility in consideration. American carmaker General Motors stopped selling cars India in May 2017. The company sold its Halol (Gujarat) facility to SAIC, MG Motor’s parent entity, which retails the SUV MG Hector in the country. However, it is still using the Talegaon facility for exporting the Beat hatchback to Latin America.
The Talegaon facility has an annual manufacturing capacity of 1.65 lakh vehicles and 1.6 lakh powertrains.
Great Wall Motor is not the only company eying the Talegaon facility. MG Motor is also planning to expand its footing in India and is looking for expansion possibilities, expressing its interest in the Talegaon plant.
Great Wall Motor is expected to launch its first product in India around mid-2022. It will be interesting to see whether the Chinese carmaker brings in an SUV with an internal combustion engine or an electric motor.
The Indian facility will be only their second manufacturing facility outside China with the other being in Tula, Russia.
Great Wall Motor’s Indian R&D centre is working on the development of Hybrid Control Units, Battery Management Systems, Vehicle Control Units for electric vehicles, and an infotainment system platform for emerging markets.
(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)
