Update
Great Wall Motor Plans to Restart Production in Bulgaria
The Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor (GWM) is setting up its first production base in Europe, a factory near the Bulgarian city of Lovetch. The project is being implemented in collaboration with the local partner Bulgarian Automotive Industry, which operates the factory in Bachovit near Lovetch. No financial details of the agreement have been disclosed. The factory in Bachovit is not new to Great Wall Motor, as it previously operated a joint production with the Bulgarian company Litex Motors in 2012. However, production was halted in 2016 and Litex Motors entered bankruptcy proceedings in 2017. GWM plans to restart production with its new electric crossover Ora 5. The initial production will operate under the SKD (semi-knocked-down) system, with partially assembled components imported from China and assembled locally. GWM also plans to expand production to other facilities and models in the future. The production in Bulgaria is part of a broader strategy of localization. The company has an European research and development center in Munich, which has been operating since 2021. It studies local market needs, regulatory requirements, and conducts engineering tests on vehicles.