Chinese Great Wall launches engine plant in Tula Region

TULA. March 6 (Interfax) - Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor (GWM), which produces SUV-segment cars in Russia under the Haval brand, commissioned an automobile engine plant at the Uzlovaya Industrial Park in the Tula region on Wednesday, the regional government told Interfax.

"Today, a plant for the production of 1.5 and 2 liter internal combustion engines has been put into operation. The production complex is located on the territory of the existing automobile plant in Uzlovaya and occupies an area of more than 10,000 sq. m," the regional government said.

The Russian Industry and Trade Ministry signed a special investment contract with Havale Motor Manufacturing Rus LLC (Russia's Great Wall automobile plant) in September 2020 to localize car production in the Tula region. The automaker planned to localize more than 80% of production in Russia within 6 years.

The launch of the plant for the production of Haval automotive engines was initially planned for 2022. It was reported that the plant would provide production and assembly of engines for more than 90% of Haval cars in Russia. Plans were also announced to create a research and development center.

The Russian Haval car assembly plant started up in June 2019. Investments initially reached more than $500 million. The plant became the Chinese brand's first foreign enterprise with a full production cycle. Currently, five models are produced there: the F7 and F7x crossovers, the Dargo and Jolion, and the H9 frame SUV. The planned production capacity is 150,000 cars per year.

The government of the Tula region said that nearly 99,000 cars rolled off the plant's assembly lines in 2023.

Autostat data show that, in 2023, 111,720 Haval cars were sold in Russia (a 2.3-fold increase). Haval's market share in Russia in 2023 was 10.55% (versus 5.45% in 2022). The most popular foreign car was the Haval Jolion crossover, assembled in Russia, which sold 55,550 units.