Great Wall Motor Rizhao base to produce WEY cars from 2021

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor and Rizhao municipal government announced recently that they will step up cooperation to jointly develop such businesses as government car sourcing, vehicle recommendation for large-sized enterprises and public institutions as well as environmentally friendly smart mobility service, according to local media.

Meanwhile, the company officially launched the product planning for its ORA NEV brand and the business plan for the OLA Sharing, the sharing mobility service brand unveiled on August 20.

On August 16, the Hebei-based automaker signed an agreement with Rizhao government to build a complete vehicle plant as well as a R&D center in the city situated in the southeast of Shandong province. Covering an area of 2,000mu (around 1.333 million square meters), the new base will focus on manufacturing WEY branded vehicles.

Great Wall Motor currently has four major manufacturing bases in Tianjin, Yongchuan of Chongqing, Xushui of Hebei province and its headquarters Baoding. The Rizhao base will be the company's fifth major production base in China with a design annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles and is expected to start operation in 2021.

The automaker said the Rizhao base will carry out R&D and produce cars with world-class standards, running as an important part for Great Wall Motor's global manufacturing layouts.

The OLA Sharing reportedly plans to deploy 3,000 NEVs in Rizhao city, with the government vehicle business and smart mobility service as priorities. Over the next five years, the operator is expected to build intelligent parking centers and smart charging stations in the areas of urban transport hubs and core business districts.