Last week we reported that the Russian government had not allowed Chinese auto manufacturers from building factories in the country, however, non Chinese manufacturers had managed to get licenses to build factories in Russia i.e. Ford MoCo. The Russian government said that Chinese manufacturers hadnt filled any paperwork before the cut off date, China Car Times cant decide if it really was the Chinese manufacturers being slow about handing in paperwork (highly possible) or if it was the Russian government playing protectionist games (highly possible).
Great Wall Motors were in the process of building their factory and are expecting that the building will be delayed due to the licensing issues. Great Wall was planning to invest a mighty 40 million USD into building the Russian factory (Its sixth overseas factory) The factory would have had a yearly capacity for 50,000 SUVs, sedans, and other multipurpose vehicles.
Great Wall says its plans to expand in Russia have not been derailed, just setback, Great Wall expects that its exports to Russia will be increased to satisfy demand for their vehicles in the worlds biggest country.
Apparently others affected by these hurdles are Zhongxing, Chery, Lifan, and Nanjing. And perhaps SAIC Ssangyong’s Russia plans as well.