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[size=75:22j5srnt]Sofia echo Tue, Nov 24 2009

Chinese car maker Great Wall to start production in Bulgaria by end-2010

Chinese car manufacturer Great Wall is to commence production of off-road vehicles in the northern Bulgarian town of Lovech by the end of 2010, the Chinese Xinhua reported, cited by Investor.bg

Great Wall Motor signed an agreement with Litex Motors worth 80 million euro on November 15 2009 and the deal was hailed as "
Bulgaria's chance to prove that the current business climate in the country is sound and stable"
, Investor said.

The Chinese car maker will pay $4 million for its stake in the company that is envisioned to manufacture sport utility vehicles that would be sold at a price of less than $15 000.

As China’s first private automobile enterprise listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company has more than 30 subsidiaries and more than 22 000 people on its payroll. Great Wall Motor now manufactures sedans and sports utility vehicles and pickups, with an annual capacity of 400 000 complete vehicles.

The company has anticipated on exporting production in Eastern Europe since 2006, and the Litex Motors deal signed in November 2009 can be seen a cornerstone in future expansion in southern Europe. The total output of its Bulgarian joint venture remains as yet undisclosed.

Previously British car manufacturer Rover was contemplating on shifting production of their Maestro and Montego ranges to Varna, an investment which at the time was estimated at $20 million, with an annual output of 10 000 vehicles. Subsequently, Rover Group which owned 51 per cent of the shares and the Bulgarian Daru Group with 49 per cent commenced operation in 1995.

The vehicles manufactured in Bulgaria, however, were perceived to be poorly marketed and overpriced, and the Rover Maestro scheme in Bulgaria eventually collapsed on April 4 1996 with only 2200 vehicles produced.

This all sounds very promising for Bulgaria

Any idea of pricing structure on the vehicles produced here??

dave b wrote:

Any idea of pricing structure on the vehicles produced here??

Good question if anyone can answer it?

Production 2006 - present
Body style(s) 4-door crew cab;
2-door pickup truck
Engine(s) 2.4 L Mitsubishi 4G64 engine (Petrol)
2.8 L Great Wall Motor GW2.8TC (Diesel)
Length 5,040 mm (198.4 in)
Width 1,800 mm (70.9 in)
Height 1,730 mm (68.1 in)
Curb weight 1,740 kg (3,836 lb)

Looks ok to me in fact it looks a bit like the L200

Your right Daisy and since it has a Mitsubishi engine it make you wonder how much they influenced this model

This is very true but I think nearly all the car manufacturers share stuff but I would like to know what the cost for this would be in Bulgaria

I bet they will cost a lot more than in the UK

Oddy

Lets be optimistic and think that the cost will be a lot lower

sallyann wrote:

Lets be optimistic and think that the cost will be a lot lower

We can only live in hope Sal

Oddy

No price for this then yet ?

I've looked round the net but I can';
t find anything but then they aren't for sale in Bulgaria yet so maybe something will show up later

Although this is good news indeed! lets just see how the Chinese react to the Bulgarian way of doing business.if you recall Rover (UK) was in Bulgaria in the 80s-90's but left due to corruption demands etc.

I have found out more information about the cars being built in Bulgaria and here they are below, I have also written to the company in China asking about prices so if I get a reply I will post it here

Cool bear




Florid




GW peri




There is another model but I can't find the information yet but these don't look to bad but I do think they are very copycat type cars

I wonder if anyone has anymore news about this yet? it seems to have gone very quiet are they still building the factory