Great Wall eyes Malaysia as car distribution hub for ASEAN
Chinese car maker Great Wall Motors, together with its Malaysian partner Go Auto, wants to make Malaysia a production and distribution hub for its cars within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, it emerged at the Shanghai Motor Show 2017.
To that end, both companies will be allocating up to two billion ringgit ($456 million) in investment until 2021 to upgrade Go Auto’s assembly and production facilities in Gurun in the northern Malaysian state of Kedah.
Go Auto CEO Ahmad Azam Sulaiman told media at the motor show that the investment aims at strengthening Go Auto’s position as a hub of made-in-China sport utility vehicles and energy-efficient vehicles in Malaysia and the ASEAN region.
He said the investment will be made in three phases, beginning with the expansion of the production facilities in Gurun and promotion of the Great Wall brand in Malaysia. The second phase of the development will more than double Go Auto’s production capacity to 50,000 units from 24,000 a year and help enlarge its SUV market. In the third and final phase, the company will produce vehicles with upgraded components besides developing the engine and conducting vehicle testing at its own facilities.
The company is mainly focusing on Great Wall’s Haval sports utility vehicle series whose latest models, H6 Coupe and H9, sell for $26,195 and $31,890, respectively. Earlier this year, Go Auto unveiled the Haval H1 model in Malaysia, previously known as Haval M4, and will soon introduce the Haval 2 which will be locally-assembled at its manufacturing plant in Gurun.
Azam said Go Auto has been exporting SUVs to Cambodia, Thailand and Brunei and would be making forays into Batam and Jakarta in Indonesia, as well as to Singapore, Vietnam and Myanmar this year.
Founded in 2013, Go Auto made history in the Malaysian automotive sector by becoming the first company awarded a license to manufacture energy-efficient vehicles by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry under the National Automotive Policy 2014.
Hebei-based Great Wall Motors is one of China’s largest automotive companies and sells passenger cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles under the Great Wall brand and premium sport utility vehicles under the Haval brand.
[caption id="attachment_29753" align="alignleft" width="300"] Great Wall's Haval series is being marketed as affordable premium sport utility vehicles[/caption] Chinese car maker Great Wall Motors, together with its Malaysian partner Go Auto, wants to make Malaysia a production and distribution hub for its cars within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, it emerged at the Shanghai Motor Show 2017. To that end, both companies will be allocating up to two billion ringgit ($456 million) in investment until 2021 to upgrade Go Auto’s assembly and production facilities in Gurun in the northern Malaysian state of Kedah. Go Auto CEO Ahmad Azam...
Chinese car maker Great Wall Motors, together with its Malaysian partner Go Auto, wants to make Malaysia a production and distribution hub for its cars within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, it emerged at the Shanghai Motor Show 2017.
To that end, both companies will be allocating up to two billion ringgit ($456 million) in investment until 2021 to upgrade Go Auto’s assembly and production facilities in Gurun in the northern Malaysian state of Kedah.
Go Auto CEO Ahmad Azam Sulaiman told media at the motor show that the investment aims at strengthening Go Auto’s position as a hub of made-in-China sport utility vehicles and energy-efficient vehicles in Malaysia and the ASEAN region.
He said the investment will be made in three phases, beginning with the expansion of the production facilities in Gurun and promotion of the Great Wall brand in Malaysia. The second phase of the development will more than double Go Auto’s production capacity to 50,000 units from 24,000 a year and help enlarge its SUV market. In the third and final phase, the company will produce vehicles with upgraded components besides developing the engine and conducting vehicle testing at its own facilities.
The company is mainly focusing on Great Wall’s Haval sports utility vehicle series whose latest models, H6 Coupe and H9, sell for $26,195 and $31,890, respectively. Earlier this year, Go Auto unveiled the Haval H1 model in Malaysia, previously known as Haval M4, and will soon introduce the Haval 2 which will be locally-assembled at its manufacturing plant in Gurun.
Azam said Go Auto has been exporting SUVs to Cambodia, Thailand and Brunei and would be making forays into Batam and Jakarta in Indonesia, as well as to Singapore, Vietnam and Myanmar this year.
Founded in 2013, Go Auto made history in the Malaysian automotive sector by becoming the first company awarded a license to manufacture energy-efficient vehicles by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry under the National Automotive Policy 2014.
Hebei-based Great Wall Motors is one of China’s largest automotive companies and sells passenger cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles under the Great Wall brand and premium sport utility vehicles under the Haval brand.
