Great Wall Motor, the largest SUV manufacturer in China, announced Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with Daimler Group to acquire its Iracemapolis plant in Brazil.
The plant, including land, factory, machinery and equipment, will be transferred to Great Wall Motor. This transaction is a pure asset transaction and does not involve the transfer of personnel, according to a statement.
The deal will accelerate Great Wall Motor's growth and strategic landing in the South American market, furthering its transformation into a global technology mobility company, said Meng Xiangjun, the company's rotating president.
(Photo source: Great Wall Motor)
Brazil is the largest and most populous country in Latin America, with the world's seventh-largest auto sales and a high potential consumer auto market, said Liu Shang, vice president of Great Wall Motor.
The plant delivery is expected to be completed by the end of 2021, and it will have an annual capacity of 100,000 vehicles after the renovation, creating nearly 2,000 local jobs, Great Wall Motor said.
In the first half of 2021, Great Wall Motor's revenue was RMB 62.159 billion ($9.6 billion), up 73 percent year-over-year, according to figures released by the company on July 20.
Its net profit for the first half of the year was RMB 3.498 billion, up 205.19 percent year-over-year.
Great Wall Motor's sales in the first half totaled 618,211 units, up 56.5 percent year-over-year.
Its overseas sales totaled 61,672 units, up 200.3 percent year-over-year and accounting for nearly 10 percent of overall sales.
Its Haval brand accumulated sales of 391,541 units in the first half of the year, an increase of 49.3 percent year-over-year, placing it at the top of the Chinese SUV market sales. Its Haval H6 won the top SUV sales in China for a total of 97 months.
Great Wall pickup sold 118,066 units globally in the first half of the year, up 23.2 percent year-over-year, with a market share of nearly 50 percent in China.
WEY accumulated sales of 22,984 units in the first half of the year, and electric car brand Ola sold 52,547 units in the first half of the year, an increase of 456.9 percent year-over-year.
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