Amid tensions on the border with China, Great Wall Motors (GWM) failed to get the necessary approvals from the Indian government to acquire General Motors (GM)’s manufacturing plant in Talegaon, Pune.
Chinese SUV market, Great Wall Motors (GWM) leaves India after a deal to take over GM’s manufacturing plant in Pune. According to various reports, the Chinese automaker failed to get the necessary FDI approval from the Indian government to start manufacturing. This may be due to the government’s reluctance to entertain Chinese companies in India after the infamous border conflict a few years ago. As a result of this, several Chinese apps were also banned as a sign of protest.
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Chinese GWM leaves India
After revising the term sheet 6 times with GM and still running into issues with the government, GWM decided to pull the plug on its India operations. As a result, it fired 11 employees and moved its operations to Brazil. In India, the Hav SUV maker plans to invest $1 billion, of which the purchase of the GM manufacturing plant alone will cost around $300 million. The rest was to be used for R&D, components, battery and infrastructure aspects. But instead, it went to Brazil with a commitment to invest $2 billion in setting up its operations.
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The 11 employees who had to be sacked by the company got 3 months advance salary in addition to 6 months variable pay. However, he was not offered a work contract to relocate to other locations. The company’s director Kaushik Ganguly wrote on the wall after he decided to quit GWM in March this year. In March 2021, the then director of the company, Hardeep Singh Brar, left the company to join Kia India.
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GWM wowed everyone at the Auto Expo 2020, where it showcased its popular Havdar SUV along with other products. The company was excited to announce its entry into the fast growing Indian automobile market. It had refused to bring the SUV to our shores via the CBU route due to price constraints. But it was ready to manufacture in India and give Indian customers a taste of its luxury SUVs at competitive prices. Two years down the line, GWM joins a list of companies like GM, Ford, MAN, Datsun and Harley Davidson that had to give up on the Indian dream.
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