Great Wall Motors Appoints Ghassan Aboud as Exclusive Dealer in Syria

Great Wall Motor will kick off production at its first Brazilian car factory on August 15, with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and GWM chairman Wei Jianjun set to attend the inauguration ceremony. The first locally assembled model, the Haval H6 SUV, will be unveiled at the event marking GWM's entry into South American manufacturing.

The Iracemápolis plant currently employs 530 workers, including 145 office and administrative staff, with plans to expand to 1,000 employees by the end of 2025 when double-shift operations begin. Initial production capacity stands at 30,000 units annually, increasing to 50,000 units by 2028 as the company ramps up local assembly operations.

The facility was previously owned by Mercedes-Benz, which ceased Brazilian car production in 2021, before GWM stepped in and acquired the plant through an agreement with Daimler Group announced in August 2021. The automaker is also looking to establish a local supply chain, with a target local procurement rate of 35% by the second year of operations.

GWM becomes the second Chinese automaker to produce cars in Brazil, following BYD's Bahia plant launch on 1 July. The move reflects growing interest from Chinese automakers in Latin America, given there is no realistic path to market entry in either the US or Canada.