SHANGHAI--General Motors Co.'s (GM) micro-van joint venture in
China has opened a new passenger car-manufacturing plant in the
southern part of the country, as the U.S. auto maker looks to
challenge China's home-grown brands in the low-cost car
segment.
SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co.'s new plant, located in the
southwestern Chinese city of Liuzhou, will eventually have an
annual manufacturing capacity of 400,000 units, GM said in a
statement Sunday.
SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile is a joint venture between GM, SAIC
Motor Corp. (600104.SH), China's largest auto group, and Liuzhou
Wuling Motors Co.
GM and its partners have invested 8 billion yuan (US$1.3
billion) in the first phase of the construction of the new
passenger car-manufacturing plant, which is initially scheduled to
produce vehicles from the Baojun family.
The Baojun brand of small, inexpensive cars was created in 2010
to address growing demand for affordable passenger vehicles in
China and is aimed at competing with local auto brands, including
those sold by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. and BYD Co.
GM said in an earlier statement that sales of Baojun brand
vehicles, which are generally priced at between CNY40,000 and
CNY90,000, exceeded 10,000 units for the first time in October,
more than double the amount sold a year earlier.
Established in 2002, SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile has focused on
making minivans and commercial vehicles. In addition to the newly
launched car-manufacturing plant, the joint venture also has a
commercial vehicle-manufacturing plant in the northern Chinese city
of Qingdao and another car production base in Liuzhou.
Overall sales at SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile totaled 1.21 million
units in the January-October period, surpassing any of GM's joint
ventures in China and up 13% from a year earlier period. The
company now expects to record annual sales of more than 1.4 million
cars this year.
GM has other joint ventures in China: Shanghai General Motors
Corp., its joint venture with SAIC, and FAW-GM Light Duty
Commercial Vehicle Co., its joint venture with FAW Car Co.
Write to Rose Yu at rose.yu@dowjones.com
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