Great Wall to spend 16.8 billion yuan on EVs, connected cars
Great Wall Motor Co. plans to invest up to 16.8 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) to develop green vehicles and connected cars.
Great Wall, China's biggest seller of SUVs, expects to fund the projects by raising capital through a new-share issue on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges, where the company is listed.
According to the company's disclosures to the stock exchanges, Great Wall will fund five projects:
5.1 billion yuan to develop conventional hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles
4.1 billion yuan to build 500,000 gearboxes a year for EVs and hybrids
1.8 billion yuan to produce 500,000 electric motors annually for EVs and hybrids
1 billion yuan to produce one million EV battery packs a year
5.0 billion yuan to developed 'connected' vehicles
The company said it will tap accumulated capital to cover the additional costs of the five projects. It did not disclose a timeframe to complete the five projects.
Great Wall, which is headquartered in the north China city of Baoding, builds sedans, SUVs and pickups powered by gasoline and diesel fuel. It has never built an EV and the company is counting on the project to help it establish a niche in the market for green vehicles.
In June, Great Wall sold 51,981 vehicles, up 14 percent year on year. For the first six months, the company's vehicle sales jumped 23 percent from a year earlier to 423,393 units.
The company has relied heavily on its SUV lineup to outperform the market. In the first six months, Great Wall sold 340,777 SUVs.
According to the company's disclosures to the stock exchanges, Great Wall will fund five projects:
5.1 billion yuan to develop conventional hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles
4.1 billion yuan to build 500,000 gearboxes a year for EVs and hybrids
1.8 billion yuan to produce 500,000 electric motors annually for EVs and hybrids
1 billion yuan to produce one million EV battery packs a year
5.0 billion yuan to developed 'connected' vehicles
The company said it will tap accumulated capital to cover the additional costs of the five projects. It did not disclose a timeframe to complete the five projects.
Great Wall, which is headquartered in the north China city of Baoding, builds sedans, SUVs and pickups powered by gasoline and diesel fuel. It has never built an EV and the company is counting on the project to help it establish a niche in the market for green vehicles.
In June, Great Wall sold 51,981 vehicles, up 14 percent year on year. For the first six months, the company's vehicle sales jumped 23 percent from a year earlier to 423,393 units.
The company has relied heavily on its SUV lineup to outperform the market. In the first six months, Great Wall sold 340,777 SUVs.
