Great Wall Motor not rule out buying plant in Western Europe

Beijing (Gasgoo)- As Great Wall Motor is accelerating its global business layout, it is possible for the automaker to acquire a manufacturing plant in Western Europe, sources inside the company told a local media outlet.   

The ORA Cat; photo credit: Great Wall Motor

Early on, foreign media reported that Great Wall Motor was actively negotiating with Spanish authorities and Nissan Motor over a possible takeover of the latter’s Barcelona plant, which was scheduled to be shut down by the end of the year.

Last year, Nissan announced it would close down its three Barcelona factories as a means to strive under the blow to the European auto market. The rumored plant of interest to Great Wall Motor was the largest among all three, while the other two smaller plants were said to be under consideration based on their usefulness to the company. The Chinese automaker gave out a “no comment” on the matter.

In addition, Great Wall Motor has successively acquired three international factories, two GM factories in India and Thailand in 2020, and a Daimler factory in Brazil this August. In 2019, the automaker invested RMB500 million ($77.51 million) to build the first Chinese auto brand’s overseas comprehensive manufacturing plant in Russia. Currently, the said Russian and Thailand factories are already in production and profiting.