GM and FAW Form Chinese Joint Venture

General Motors has just made another major step towards increasing its Chinese share by forming a 50-50 joint venture with FAW Group Corp. for the establishment of FAW - GM Light Duty Commercial Vehicle Co. Ltd. The new alliance is based in Changchun, Jilin and will be focused on the creation and sale of light-duty trucks and vans, with operations such a R&D, exports and aftersales support.

“Our new joint venture combines the expertise of two industry leaders in a partnership that benefits both,” said Nick Reilly, GM Executive Vice President and President of GM International Operations.

“It will address demand in China and other markets for high-quality, affordable products in one of the industry’s most robust segments, while complementing the portfolio of products that GM and FAW currently offer. It sends an important signal of GM’s ongoing commitment to China through our strategy of working in China, with China and for China.”

General Motors says the joint venture will sell the future models in China as FAW models and might also comprise rebadged GM models to be sold locally. The joint venture has registered capital of RMB 1.2 billion and total investment of RMB 2 billion.

“Light-duty commercial vehicles will play a strategic role in China’s urbanization and rural development,” said Xu Jianyi. “FAW and GM have a common understanding of the importance of the global commercial vehicle market, including the China market. Cooperation is not only the key for the two partners to achieve our strategic goals. It is also a proactive step for helping the Chinese government realize its plan of restructuring and further developing the automotive industry, broadening the market share of local self-owned brands and enhancing FAW’s performance."