Thanks to the ongoing unfavourable situation, it would be rather safe to assume that the Great Wall Motors would delay its foray into Indian market by at least a few months
The ongoing unfavourable situation has pretty much thrown every carmaker off the track. While the carmakers in the country have suffered from some huge losses, upcoming manufacturers, who were close to entering the Indian market. And one of the reasons who might have postponed entering the Indian market is Great Wall Motors.
The Chinese carmaker was earlier expected to launch in India in 2021. Earlier this year, the company had signed an agreement with General Motors to acquire its Talegaon factory off Pune. The acquisition of the said plant will mark a major step in the company’s foray into the Indian market. The takeover of the plant was scheduled to be completed later this year but now it looks like the company “might just have to abandon its India plans.”
Other than the huge slowdown that has gripped the Indian market, another hurdle in the company’s plant is the tightened regulations that the Indian government has put in place on Chinese investment. The recent revision of rules under FDI could have made things a lot tougher for the Chinese car manufacturer.
When approached by a local media outlet for comment on the above matter, a spokesperson of Great Wall Motors said that the company is “still studying the order and what it implies.” The revised policy on Foreign Direct Investment aims to curb over-ambitious takeovers of Indian companies in the ongoing circumstances.
Great Wall Motors had planned to use the Talegaon-based facility to manufacture SUVs and EVs. A Haval SUV would have become the first product from GWM to launch in India in 2021.
It is worth a mention here that the Great Wall Motors displayed a range of SUVs and concepts at the Auto Expo 2020. The model showcased at the country’s largest automotive event by GWM comprised a range of Haval models, including F7, F7x, F5, H9, Concept H and Vision 2025, and the R1 and iQ Ora models as GWM products.