[News-Oxcart Network]
On January 27, local time, Great Wall Motor officially took over the Plant in Iracemapolis, Brazil, and after the completion of the transformation, it is expected to be put into operation in the second half of 2023, with an annual production capacity of 100,000 units.
In August last year, Great Wall Motor announced the signing of an agreement with Mercedes-Benz AG to acquire the Plant in Iracemapolis, Brazil. According to the agreement, the land, plant, machinery and equipment of the Hiracemapolis plant will be handed over to Great Wall Motors.
Previously, Great Wall Motor insiders revealed to Chinatown that negotiations with Mercedes-Benz have begun since the second half of 2019. For Great Wall Motors, the overseas expansion of the eastern hemisphere has been radiated through the Tula plant in Russia and the Rayong plant in Thailand, while the acquisition of the Brazilian plant has opened up a new situation in the western hemisphere.
Great Wall Motor announced that it will invest more than 10 billion reais (about 11.5 billion yuan) in the next 10 years to deepen the layout of the local industrial chain in Brazil, with the goal of reaching a localization rate of more than 60% by 2025.
In the Brazilian market, Great Wall Motors will focus on electrification and intelligence.
According to Li Yachao, vice president of regional marketing of Great Wall Motors in Brazil, next, Great Wall Motors will launch the GWM brand and the Euler brand in the Brazilian market. The GWM brand will introduce three category brands of tanks, Haval and Great Wall Cannon, and Euler will position itself as a high-end pure electric brand.
In the next three years, 10 models of 100% new energy power products will be launched, including 4 pure electric vehicles and 6 hybrid vehicles, and the first product is scheduled to be launched in the fourth quarter of this year. In addition, all products will be equipped with the Internet of Vehicles and the L2 level intelligent driver assistance system.
Local charging networks and intelligent R&D bases in Latin America will also be built simultaneously.
Last year, China's automobile exports exceeded 2 million units for the first time, of which passenger car exports were 1.614 million units, an increase of 1.1 times year-on-year. SAIC Motor, Chery Group and other car companies have come up with record export results. At the 8th Great Wall Motor Technology Festival, the Great Wall, which will achieve annual sales of 4 million vehicles in 2025, also needs to be supported by overseas markets.
As mentioned above, Great Wall Motors has already laid out in Russia, Southeast Asia and other markets, and the completion of the handover of the Brazilian plant is a new starting point for opening up the South American market. However, as the largest market in South America, Brazil's automobile pattern is still controlled by multinational companies such as Volkswagen, Fiat, General Motors, and Hyundai, and Ford, Mercedes-Benz, etc. have experienced frustration and retreat here.
The ultimate goal is to represent the Chinese brand "win the joint venture, go to the world", how Great Wall Motors will behave here, it remains to be seen.