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Residents in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region will be able to purchase new energy vehicles locally by the end of next year, as the Guangzhou Automobile Group Motor (GAC Motor) laid foundations for a vehicle manufacturing plant in Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital city on Aug 26.
GAC Motor signed contracts with Urumqi's Economic and Technological Development Zone this June, with GAC Motor planning to construct a its own branded vehicles in Xinjiang.
The automobile project is divided into two phases. The first phase is to invest 1.09 billion yuan ($16.32 million), which will fund an annual production capacity of 50,000 vehicles, including sports utility vehicles (SUV) and petrol-electric hybrid vehicles such as the GS4 PHEV.
According to staff from GAC Motor, the GS4 PHEV is energy efficient without compromising on performance, and it will account for half of the whole production capacity.
Once the plant is completed, it is anticipated it will manufacture around 10,000 vehicles a year, and new products will be introduced according to market demand, according to Ceng Qinghong, the general manager of GAC Motor.
He also added that Xinjiang has a geographic advantage as it is an ideal location linking the domestic market with Central Asian markets, which is expected to boost vehicles sales. GAC Motor plans to export 30 percent of its products to Central Asia.
