China FAW Group Corporation recently revealed that it has drafted a letter of intent with Russia’s largest commercial vehicle producer GAZ to co-invest in the building of a manufacturing base in Russia, for the production and sales of FAW medium and heavy duty trucks. They plan to produce 5,000 to 10,000 trucks at the base within three years.
Like this article? Sign up to receive our weekly news blasts here.An insider at China FAW Group Import & Export Corporation said FAW is going all out to build overseas bases for whole vehicle production.
More than 18.4 million vehicles rolled off China’s productions lines in 2011 while the country has unquestionably become the world’s largest automobile market, according to data from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). However, its whole vehicle export volume in 2011, at 814,300 units, accounted for a mere 4.4% of the total produced. Some industry analysts believe that the export market potential for Chinese made vehicle is huge, and that globalized operations for the country’s automakers is an inevitable path in tandem with the ongoing growth of the sector’s domestic markets.
Before inking the deal with GAZ, FAW had agreed with government authorities responsible for Iran’s automotive sector to co-develop and produce buses and other vehicles used for public transport, based on design models localized to Iran’s requirements. Initial target of the cooperation is an annual output of 50,000 units.
