How to continue to maintain the hegemonic position in the micro-vehicle area in the case of entering the sedan industry has become a problem that must be considered by SAIC-GM-Wuling policy makers.
It will not be long before the name of China’s major mini-vehicle maker will completely change. Wuling, the famous name in the field of micro-vehicles, will bid farewell to the Chinese auto arena.
All had early warnings. In mid-July this year, Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Ma Jian met with Gan Wenwei, President of General Motors (China) Co., Ltd. in Nanning. Ma Yong clearly stated in the meeting that he hopes that General Motors will further strengthen cooperation with Guangxi and relevant parties, organize the implementation of the SAIC-GM-Wuling development plan as soon as possible, accelerate the research and development of the series of medium-sized cars, and promote the optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure of the Guangxi automobile industry. Guangxi will, as always, give strong support to the development of SAIC-GM-Wuling in Guangxi.
This statement quickly gained substantial progress. According to Guangxi local media reports, GM China has reached an initial verbal agreement with the local government on Wuling’s equity transfer: Wuling Group’s 15.9% stake in SAIC-GM-Wuling is sold to General China.
This also means that the "SAIC-GM-Wuling" three-way joint venture domestic sales of the mini vehicle brand, the ultimate shareholding structure will be changed to: SAIC Group accounted for 50.1%, General Motors China accounted for 49.9%. SAIC-GM-Wuling will also go to Wuling and become a joint venture between SAIC and GM.
According to the agreement, the SAIC-GM-Wuling mini-car will continue to be manufactured in Guangxi, and as compensation for the transfer of Wuling Group's equity, GM China will introduce sedan and commercial vehicle projects in Guangxi. Subsequently, in the summary of corporate technological transformation projects announced on the website of the Guangxi government, SAIC-GM-Wuling Automotive Co., Ltd.'s "GP50 Medium-sized Sedan Technical Transformation Project" was also ranked first in the automotive project. This means that the SAW-GM-Wuling mid-size car project has been officially launched.
Although there are no star companies such as Dongfeng Liuzhou Automobile and SAIC-GM-Wuling in the territory, the eagerness for car projects has caused Guangxi's local governments to sacrifice some of the shares in SAIC-GM-Wuling, and General Motors has promised to Guangxi. The joint venture plant implanted car production technology. “For the development of our passenger vehicle project, the government and the shareholders have a high degree of concern and are willing to provide good resources to support it,†SAIC-GM-Wuling said. This support has also been transformed into a financial and technical reality reserve.
In June, a syndicate of SAIC-GM-Wuling and nine financial institutions including SAIC Finance and Construction Bank signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Liuzhou. According to the agreement, SAIC-GM-Wuling will be able to obtain a revolving loan of 3 billion yuan in circulating funds from syndicates in the next five years. In July, SAIC-GM-Wuling's Eastern Plant Renovation Project and Liuzhou Engine Factory's second-phase project started construction in Liuzhou City. SAIC-GM-Wuling insiders said that the factory expansion is precisely for the introduction of new general-purpose mid-size sedan products.
In fact, the micro-vehicle companies have long been no longer new to the field of cars. Before that, Chang'an, Changhe and Hafei have all entered the car industry. However, correspondingly, they have lost their leading position in the field of micro-vehicles. In addition, in addition to Chang’an, In the field of cars, Hafei and Changhe have been hamstrung by the sedan business.
Is SAIC-GM-Wuling, a miracle maker, capable of miracles this time?
Flowtam Light Industry Machinery Co., Ltd. , http://www.flowtamtank.com