Amidst border tensions with China, Great Wall Motors (GWM) failed to get the necessary approvals from the Indian government to take over General Motors (GM) manufacturing plant in Talegoan, Pune.
The Chinese SUV market, Great Wall Motors (GWM) leaves India after the deal to take over GM’s manufacturing plant in Pune fell through. According to various reports, the Chinese automaker failed to get the necessary FDI approvals from the Indian government to commence manufacturing. This could be due to the government’s reluctance to entertain Chinese companies in India after the infamous border clash a couple of years ago. As a result of that, many Chinese apps were also banned as a sign of protest.
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Chinese GWM Leaves India
After revising the term sheet with GM 6 times and still running into issues with the government, GWM decided to pull the plug on its India operations. Resultantly, it fired 11 employees and took its operations to Brazil. In India, the Haval SUV maker planned to invest $1 billion out of which, the purchase of the GM manufacturing plant would have cost around $300 million alone. The rest was to be used for the R&D, components, batteries and infrastructure aspects. But instead, it went to Brazil with the commitment to invest $2 billion in establishing its operations.
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The 11 employees that the company had to fire received 3 months’ salary in advance in addition to the variable pay for 6 months. However, they were not offered work contracts to relocate to other locations. The writings were on the wall after the company Director, Kaushik Ganguly decided to quit GWM in March this year. In March 2021, the then company Director, Hardeep Singh Brar had left the company to join Kia India.
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GWM attracted everyone at the Auto Expo 2020 where it showcased its popular Haval SUVs 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 owing to price constraints. But it was ready to manufacture in India and offer Indian customers a taste of its luxury SUVs at competitive prices. Two years down the line, GWM joins the list of companies like GM, Ford, MAN, Datsun and Harley Davidson who had to give up on the Indian dream.
