GWM signs Memorandum of Understanding with Maharashtra government

GWM made a big impression when they showcased a huge fleet of vehicles at this year’s Auto Expo, announcing their arrival to competitors like Kia and MG Motors. GWM has now taken a major step toward making their entry into the Indian market by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Maharashtra, highlighting its investment in the manufacturing facility. The company had signed an agreement in January to acquire the 300 acre plant located in Talegaon Industrial Park, Maharashtra.

Mr. Parker Shi, Managing Director, of Indian subsidiary of GWM said, “We would like to thank the Maharashtra government for extending full support and helping us foster a long and mutually beneficial cooperation that hopefully will turn out to be a great business proposition for both. This would be a highly automated plant in Talegaon with advanced robotics technology integrated in many of the production processes. Overall we are committed to Rs 7600 crore of investment in India in a phased manner, which is directed towards manufacturing world class intelligent & premium products, R&D centre, building supply chain and providing jobs.”

Part of the investment will go toward updating the plant to “latest world-class technology”. Since it was already an automotive manufacturing plant, it has a logistics distribution centre, training centre, project management building, administrative office building and public facilities centre. GWM will also set up an R&D centre in Bengaluru. The company claims that the manufacturing facility and R&D centre will create employment for close to 3000, in a phased manner.

GWM still hasn’t revealed what cars it will be launching in India, but we suspect it will be an SUV from its Haval sub-brand. GWM is China’s largest SUV manufacturer and one of the world’s largest too, its expertise backed by a strong investment plan will probably give other manufacturers something to worry about in the near future.