If you’ve been following the developments revolving around the Indian automobile industry, you would know that three China-based carmakers are in the process of setting up their shops in India. The forerunner amongst those three is Great Wall Motors (GWM), which has officially reached an agreement with General Motors (GM) India to purchase its Talegaon plant. The transfer of ownership will complete once the requisite government and regulatory approvals come through.

The manufacturing plant in question was the sole manufacturing facility with GM. The American automaker used it to produce specific models for export purposes. With GWM taking over, GM will officially close all its operations in India. That said, GM’s international operations senior vice president, Julian Blissett, confirmed that Chevrolet would continue to honour all warranties and provide aftersales support to its customers in India. Also, “GM will provide a generous separation package and transition support for impact employees, as well as an orderly transition for partners.” The transaction should close by the end of 2020.

GWM will be one of the attendees at the Auto Expo 2020. It will use that platform not only to debut the Haval brand and a GWM EV but also unveil its plans for India. Why Haval? Because that has all the SUVs under its belt. In all likelihood, GWM India will bring the H6 to India first. That will fall in the same space where models like the Mahindra XUV500 and the MG Hector currently reside. Another possibility is the bigger H9, which would become a direct rival for the Toyota Fortuner and the Ford Endeavour. These speculations will only gain some or lose all substance in less than a month.

Expect GWM to launch its first product in the second half of 2021. Until then, it will not only focus on getting dealers and suppliers on-board but also on building a robust team of decision-makers for business in India.