Following the footsteps of FAW, other Chinese car companies are discovering opportunities in India. News doing the rounds is that other Chinese automakers, like Chery Automobile and Great Wall Motors (GWM) are drawing up plans to enter the booming Indian car market and could set up operations in India by the end of this year or by early-2010.

Sales are slowing down in US and Europe; and it is quite obvious that Chinese carmakers would look at India for the next phase of growth. Companies like Chery and GWM are said to be scouting around for partners with whom they can set up joint venture operations in India. Initially, these companies may only have a chain of distributors, who would sell CBU imports from China. However, in the long run, the aim is to set up full-fledged manufacturing plants in the country, since CBUs would be made very expensive due to the import duties levied on those vehicles.

According to reports from TOI, Chery Automobile is considering a joint venture partner for India as it holds a good potential for car sales in the coming time and is hoping to have their models on sale in India by next year. Likewise, Great Wall Motor is another company which is planning to enter India. They are aiming to have at least one or two models on sale within this year. It is presently assessing partnerships and is looking for a distributor for which it has been contacted by some companies, reports The Times of India.

The Chinese first automobile company, First Auto Work (FAW) Group Corporation is reportedly holding discussions with Ural India for establishing a joint venture for rolling out low-floor city buses at Haldia in West Bengal. Sources have revealed that both the companies have allocated Rs. 1,000 crore and would be manufacturing 50-seater city buses, which will involve importing the buses in a knocked down condition initially.

During the course of time, the JV Company would diversify and manufacture mini-trucks and small cars to enhance its product portfolio, though nothing has been confirmed yet. The brand names of the products have not been decided yet. The FAW representatives had earlier visited Singur, Haldia and Kharagpur. In the first phase the company is keen to manufacture trucks and buses, followed by a Rs. 1.6 lakh small car in the Indian market.

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Posted by Amrith K.A on 1 May, 2009 5:12:15 PM IST #