GAC Toyota said to ramp up annual capacity by 400,000 NEVs

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- GAC Toyota, a joint venture of Japan's Toyota Motor and China's GAC Group, will beef up production by 400,000 NEVs a year, added with RMB15 billion worth of capital from both parent companies, according to a local media report.

The advent of the new facilities will make GAC Toyota's total capacity increased up to 1 million vehicles per year. The joint venture's three assembly lines in Nansha have had the capacity to produce as much as 600,000 vehicles a year, while it appears to be scant to the current sales performance—over 600,000 vehicles were sold during the first eleven months.

The project will be conducted in two phases, namely, the fourth and the fifth assembly line for GAC Toyota. The earlier one, featuring a designed annual capacity of 200,000 units, is set to start operation in March, 2021, while the other phase is expected to be available in 2022.

(Photo source: GAC Toyota)

According to the local report, the fourth line will manufacture three all-new BEV model. The one is the C-HR EV code-named 711B, which was unveiled at the Auto Shanghai 2019, and is said to hit the market in the second half of 2020. As GAC Toyota's first BEV model bearing Toyota logo, the C-HR EV will adopt more technologies of the Japanese parent company.

The new BEV measures 4,405 long, 1,795mm wide and 1,575mm tall, only 10mm taller than the gasoline-powered version. Wheelbase spans 2,640mm, remaining unchanged. With an expected range of 400 to 500km, the all-electric C-HR will be powered by an electric motor good for up to 150kW. It will compete with such joint-venture small-sized SUV models as the Encino EV, the VE-1 and the Eupheme EV.

The other two all-electric models will be a SUV and a MPV. Of that, the SUV will be the mainstay one with a designed annual capacity of 112,000 units, the local media outlet citing an environmental impact assessment report. The new SUV measures 5,172 mm in length with a 3,060-mm wheelbase, even longer than the NIO ES8.

Due to relatively small number of all-electric MPV models in China, the pure electric MPV to be introduced by GAC Toyota will take on China-owned products such as the BYD MAX EV, the SAIC MAXUS EG10 and the Dongfeng Fengxing Lingzhi M5 EV.