Great Wall Motors has signed a deal with General Motors for its vehicle assembly and powertrain facilities in Rayong, Thailand.
The agreement is subject to government and regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.
Great Wall global strategy vice president Liu Xiangshang says the company has “accelerated the pace of its strategic global rollout” in recent years.
In 2019, Great Wall’s Tula plant in Russia successfully started production, and the company also reached an agreement with GM to acquire its Talegaon Plant in India in early 2020.
“The acquisition of GM’s Thai Rayong plant will help the business development of Great Wall Motors in Thailand and the ASEAN market. Great Wall Motors will expand through the entire ASEAN region with Thailand as the center, and export its products to other ASEAN countries as well as Australia,” Xiangshang says.
“The ASEAN automotive market is a developing market and a market with great prospects and potential. Entering the Thai market is the first step for Great Wall Motors to enter the ASEAN market, and is also an important step in Great Wall Motors’ global strategy.
“Great Wall Motors’ investment will create more jobs in the local area, including direct and indirect employment and further enhance skill development in the automotive industry. We will also promote the development of the local supply chain, R&D and related industries, plus contribute more to the exchequer of both the local Rayong and Thailand governments,” Xiangshang say.
The Rayong site has produced nearly 1.4 million trucks and large SUVs for domestic and export markets since it started manufacturing in 2000.
GM international operations senior vice president Julian Blissett says the company had taken the difficult decision to cease manufacturing operations in Thailand after undertaking a detailed analysis of the business case.
“With globally-recognised efficiency and achieving key quality benchmarks, the team at Rayong has delivered world-class vehicles for domestic and export markets for two decades,” Blissett says.
“On behalf of GM, I thank the Thailand team for their outstanding contribution to our company. I also want to thank the Thai government for its long-standing support of our operations and for sustaining a highly competitive business environment in the market.”
“Our decision to cease production at the Rayong site is based on GM’s global strategy and optimisation of our manufacturing footprint around the world. In this context, sale of the Rayong plants to [Great Wall] is the best option to support future vehicle manufacturing at this site.”
GM says it is committed to supporting impacted employees and will provide a separation package greater than labour law requirements in Thailand, as well as transition support.
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