GM to form JV with Harbin Light Truck Factory

Shanghai, February 2 (Gasgoo.com) General Motors Corp is set to form a joint venture with northeastern China's Harbin Light Truck Factory Co. Ltd after the latter terminates partnership with FAW Group, said sina.com today. The venture may produce pickups, SUVs and light trucks for GM.

Harbin Light Truck Factory started as a military-industrial plant making heavy military trucks. Later it also came to make civilian-use trucks and mini-vans. In the mid-1990s, the factory ended its affiliation to Ministry of Space Industry and partnered with FAW Group to make pickups, Jiefang trucks and mini-vans for the Chinese auto giant. Many of the vehicles have been exported to the Middle East and Africa.

Now the marriage of more than ten years between FAW Group and Harbin Light Truck is coming to an end for some unrevealed reason. As it is to quit FAW, the light-truck maker is gearing up for building a joint venture with GM to make pickups, SUVs and light trucks for the U.S. auto giant.

Reportedly, General Motors Asia Pacific will invest in the joint venture, with Harbin Light Truck Factory Co. Ltd holding the majority 51% stake and the other 49% to be controlled by GM. The details of the venture and production models are expected to be announced in May.

General Motors, which now has two major Chinese ventures Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling, sold 1,094,561 vehicles in China in 2008, up 6.1% from 2007. The rapid sales growth of GM's commercial vehicle venture SAIC-GM-Wuling had offset the sales drop of Shanghai GM.