Chinese Car Firm in Russia: Great Wall Motors launch first production facility in town of Uzlovaya

World
Europe

Chinese car manufacturer, Great Wall Motors, has opened its first production facility in a small town in the west of Russia. Under the brand name of Haval, Great Wall is rolling out SUV's, signaling a new era for Chinese carmakers. Our Aljosa Milenkovic has more.

This is how it begins.

And this is how it ends.

It's part of a global strategy by the Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors.

ALJOSA MILENKOVIC UZLOVAYA "This is the F7, the main model produced here in Russia under the brand name Haval. There are already 120-thousand Haval vehicles running on Russia's vast road network. The company is hoping that by the next year, there will be 20-thousand more. Well, 20.001."

Half a billion dollars have been invested so far by Great Wall Motors with much more to come. It expects to produce 80-thousand cars a year. It's China's first complete vehicle manufacturing factory overseas.

The biggest questions at the moment are: Will this work, will Great Wall attract enough buyers here in Russia for the investment to pay off, and can it compete?

Here is Leonid Golovanov, one of Russia's top motoring journalists, while test driving one of the cars.

He says that Chinese cars have made dramatic improvements in quality and safety.

LEONID GOLOVANOV DEPUTY EDITOR IN CHIEF, AUTOREVIEW "Compared to competitors from Korea, Japan and Europe, Chinese cars are still lagging, but now it's not too much. And if Chinese companies can compensate with lower prices, then for sure there is a chance for them to take their slice of the Russian market."

The company's strategy is to keep production local, meaning more car parts produced in Russia.

ZHANG JUNXUE GENERAL MANAGER, HAVAL MOTOR MANUFACTURING RUSSIA "We have already implemented 30% localization of products here. Because we have stamping, welding, painting and the assembly process. As well, we have components produced here like parts of the roof, injection molding process."

And it's not just that Great Wall will have a positive impact on local production.

There are also hundreds, if not thousands of local workers eying jobs here.

IVAN MARTYNENKO HEAD OF ASSEMBLY LINE "Construction of this factory brings great perspectives for this region. Added jobs, great opportunities in the production industry. I and many of my colleagues arrived here in order to develop our skills in that area."

Ivan is one of 800 employees currently working at the factory in Uzlovaya.

It's expected that number could grow to an estimated three-thousand in years to come. Aljosa Milenkovic, CGTN, Uzlovaya.