Chinese Automaker Great Wall Plans to Buy General Motors ' Plant in India

Great Wall Motor, a Chinese automaker, has agreed to buy General Motors (GM) car plant in Maharashtra, setting in motion its plan to build cars in the country.

Chinese Automaker Great Wall Plans to Buy General Motors ' Plant in India

Great Wall, one of China's biggest salesmen of sports utility vehicles (SUVs), is expected to pay between 250 to 300 million dollars to purchase the plant. The contract would give Great Wall's plans to build and sell cars in India a jumpstart and is likely to floor the way for General Motors' exit from the country's manufacturing cars.

Chinese automakers are accelerating plans to make cars in India to combat slow sales at home and were inspired by the country's rival SAIC Motor's initial success. According to consultancy LMC Automotive, car sales are stuttering in India. The market is expected to become the third-largest in the world by 2026, behind China and the United States.

Great Wall's decision came at a time when multinational car manufacturers such as Fiat Chrysler, Ford Motor and General Motors are scaling back in India after battling in one of the most competitive markets in the world, dominated by smaller, low-cost cars made by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor. General Motors, which stopped selling domestic cars by the end of 2017, has already vended one of its two plants to SAIC, where the Chinese carmakers manufacture automobiles under its British brand, MG Motor. In Maharashtra state, at its second plant in Talegaon, the American automaker continued to build small cars for export to countries like Mexico, which it has now agreed to sell.

Great Wall is expected to raise investment by updating and changing General Motors's plant to suit its needs and setting up a base for its suppliers. The automaker expects production to begin within one year. SUV-maker is still finalizing the model to make in India first, including whether to kick off its launch with an electric SUV. The plant is estimated to have a production capacity of some 150,000-160,000 vehicles per year.