LIUZHOU, China: China‘s SAIC GM Wuling Automobile Co Ltd (SGMW) and Tan Chong Motor’s joint venture electric vehicle (EV) assembly plant in Malaysia is expected to commence operations in December this year.
SGMW deputy general manager Dehong Han said the first vehicle for the Malaysian market will be ready by the end of the year or by January at the latest.
“Asean is our key focus market now,” he told Bernama during the Asia-Pacific journalists’ visit to the SGMW Baojun base here on Thursday.
Apart from Malaysia, SGMW also operates plants in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Explaning further on the type of EV to be assembled in Malaysia, SGMW’s Overseas Business Department manager Fandi Zeng, who is in charge of the Southeast Asia region market, said the model is called the Bingo, a compact and reliable EV.
During the visit, journalists were taken on a tour of SGMW’s green assembly island, where 80 per cent of the tasks, including installing batteries and tyres, are carried out by robots.
Meanwhile, SGMW, in a statement, said the company was officially established on Nov 18, 2002, as a major Sino-foreign joint venture formed by SAIC Motor Corp Ltd, General Motors (China) and Guangxi Automobile Group Co Ltd.
SGMW Baojun base, located in Liuzhou, is the company’s second production facility and has also been recognised as a 4A-level tourist attraction.
Strictly adhering to General Motors’ global manufacturing systems and standards, the facility emphasises environmental protection, low-carbon practices and energy efficiency, evolving into a green production base that meets GM’s highest global production standards.
The Baojun Base New Energy Vehicle Project utilises existing stamping, body and paint shop facilities, while constructing a new energy vehicle assembly workshop.
This workshop comprises an interior line, a chassis line and a final assembly line, together with additional moulds and inspection tools, enabling an annual production capacity of 200,000 new energy vehicles.
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