Great Wall Motor creates R&D center with huge investments

Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd. (SEHK: 2333), a noted automaker and auto parts and components manufacturer in China, October 26 started the construction of its new technical center in Baoding City, Hebei Province, where the automaker is located.

The technical center, with an investment of CNY 5 billion, covers an area of 250,000 square meters and is scheduled to be built at the end of 2012.

The center will comprise eight sub-centers, such as modelling center, trial production center, test center, engineering center as well as four porduct development centers, which will develop SUVs, pickups and sedans.

The modelling center will be equipped with advanced facilities like a virtual examination system, a touch examination system and a digitalized complete vehicle processing system; the trial production center will have numerical control processing lines, press lines and vehicle-body welding and assembly lines.

Great Wall Motor chairman Wei Jianjun airs that the company is expected to invest additional CNY 5 billion into research and development of products and technologies in the coming five years.