Shanghai GM to build auto R&D center in Anhui

Shanghai General Motors Co. Ltd. (Shanghai GM), a joint venture between Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (Group) (SAIC), and General Motors Corporation, will build an automobile R&D and test center in Guangde County in Anhui Province.

The provincial development and reform commission has approved the project to break earth. It involves total investment of 1.6 billion yuan and is expected to start construction in the first half of 2009.

The center is designed to cover an area of 5.6 square kilometers, and will be built up in three years and a half. Upon completion, it is able to simultaneously provide test for 140 cars, with an annual test mileage of 20 million kilometers.

The Chinese and foreign shareholders of Shanghai GM aim to set up an auto engineering design and R&D base that has the most advanced technology and the most complete facilities around China, in a bid to improve the development capacity of the company. After surveying four potential sites in Shanghai, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, they chose Guangde in October 2007.