Great Wall Motors Reportedly Shelves Its India Plans

The Chinese carmaker had plans of launching SUVs and EVs in India, but had to drop its plans

• GWM showcased its range of cars, including Haval SUVs and EVs, at the Auto Expo 2020. 

• Since the past two years, the carmaker was planning to start its India operations, but couldn’t go forward. 

• It had even signed an MoU with the Maharashtra Govt to acquire GM’s Talegaon plant. 

• However, the deal didn’t receive a go ahead from the Indian authorities. 

• Adding to it, it had signed a 2-year term sheet deal with GM in June 2020, which expired recently. 

Great Wall Motors has reportedly pulled the plug on India even before starting its operations. While the carmaker was focused on bringing an SUV-oriented lineup to India, all the plans have now been dropped. 

The Chinese SUV maker first made its appearance at the Auto Expo 2020, showcasing its range of cars included SUVs and EVs. Following that in June 2020, GWM has signed an MoU with the Maharashtra Government to acquire GM’s (General Motors) Talegaon (Pune) plant. While the local manufacturing was already on cards, there were reports of the manufacturing planning for exports as well. However, GWM didn’t receive a go ahead from the Indian authorities and its term sheet deal with GM expired in June 2022, which reportedly made them drop their plans. 

Due to the lockdown, there were several economic issues, which put Great Wall Motors’ plans on hold. To add to the effect, India’s strained relations with China made the Maharashtra Government freeze all their investments in just a week of signing the memorandum. 

• Upcoming Electric Cars In India

Great Wall Motors was planning to introduce some of its globally sold models, which included the Haval (its sub brand) F5, F7, and F7X. It also showcased its entry-level EV with a range of 351 kilometres and made a global premiere of the Concept H. GWM was supposed to offer us compact and full-sized SUVs, but now, the plan looks shelved. 

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