Great Wall Motor to buy Nissan's Barcelona plant?
After getting GM's Thai factory, GWM could also get Nissan's Barcelona factory
Several months ago, Nissan announced that they will stop making and selling the Navara in Europe. As a result, the automaker will end production of the Navara once the Barcelona plant officially closes in December 2021 as part of its global restructuring.
But with such a large facility set to become vacant, it seems other automakers are already interested in acquiring it. One of these automakers is Great Wall Motor, which is reportedly interested in acquiring the Barcelona plant.
In a report by Reuters, Spanish authorities and Nissan will enter talks with Great Wall Motor over a possible takeover of the facility that houses three separate factories. According to an anonymous source who is close to the matter, GWM is supposedly interested in getting the larger plant and will study whether they will also have use for the smaller factories.
As for the 3,000 workers that will be affected by the closure of the Barcelona plant, GWM is supposedly interested in keeping 1,300 jobs once they secure the factory.
Besides talking with GWM, Nissan and the Spanish authorities are also communicating with Spanish electric motorcycle manufacturer Silence and local engineering firm QEV Technologies, which is currently leading an electric vehicle (EV) production hub. Whereas GWM is mostly interested in the larger facility, QEV and Silence are looking at the smaller factories.
This is not the first time GWM bought a factory from a different automaker. When General Motors shuttered operations in ASEAN, GWM bought GM's old factory in Rayong, Thailand, and has since heavily invested in increasing its output. It currently has a 180,000 capacity vehicle assembly and a powertrain plant with a 120,000 output capacity. In the future, GWM plans to make EVs and batteries that will power the said EVs in Thailand.
Could Great Wall Motor acquire all three Barcelona factories after Nissan leaves? More importantly, could the acquisition help GWM expand its presence in Europe? Let us know in the comments.
