The first unit to roll off the Thai production line will be the all-new Haval H6 Hybrid SUV, pre-sales for which will start from June 15.
The factory was launched in a special event titled “GWM Smart Factory for Smart xEV World”. Present were Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit, China’s Economic and Commercial Minister Counsellor Wang Liping, Eastern Economic Corridor Office secretary-general Kanit Sangsubhan and Great Wall Motor’s Asean and Thailand leadership team led by president Elliot Zhang and vice-president Greg Lee. Also attending were government representatives and GWM’s business partners.
“Our Rayong plant is GWM’s second-largest production base overseas and its opening demonstrates our readiness to manufacture quality products for distribution across Asean. By the end of this year, we will create 1,000 new jobs, not to mention the future increase in our workforce will help spur the Thai economy.
“Today’s event marks an important milestone in GWM’s globalisation strategy, realising our expansion into Asean, especially into markets for right-hand-drive vehicles,” he said.
Located in Rayong’s Pluak Daeng district, the 412-rai factory has the capacity to produce 80,000 units per year. It will serve as GWM's key production base for right-hand-drive vehicles in Southeast Asia, 60 per cent of which will be for the local market and 40 per cent for overseas markets.
“By setting up our production base in Rayong, GWM is contributing to the Thai automotive industry as we have brought in our automobile technology to help drive the industry development to the next level. It is also an opportunity for us to discover partnerships with Thai innovators and auto-parts producers who will co-develop products with us. More importantly, we have created new jobs, shared our expertise, and supported skills development in the field of modern automobiles, including electric vehicle production technology, as we equip our local workforce with readiness and competency to produce and deliver quality automobiles to Thai people,” said Lee.
According to Steven Wang, vice president of sales and marketing, the Haval H6 Hybrid SUV will be produced in line with GWM’s production, testing and evaluation standards. The SUV will come equipped with a Life+ intelligent system, comprising Level 2 autonomy, voice command support, firmware over-the-air remote software updates, EYEQ4 intelligent chipset, plus many more other features to make driving a convenient, fun and safe activity. The all-new Haval H6 Hybrid SUV will begin its pre-sales on June 15 ahead of its official launch and price announcement on June 28.