Guangzhou Auto Breaks Ground on EV Plant

China’s Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. (GAC) has begun construction of a 1.9-sq-mile industrial park that will produce electrified vehicles, components and other advanced vehicle technologies.

GAC and other companies plan to invest a combined 45 billion yuan ($6.5 billion) in the complex, which is located in Guangzhou's Panyu district in China's southern Guangdong province. A 4.7-billion-yuan ($680 million) manufacturing plant for EVs is expected to be completed by the end of 2018 and have a production capacity of 200,000 vehicles per year.

GAC unveiled its first full-electric vehicle, the GE3 hatchback, at the Detroit auto show in January, and introduced two plug-in hybrid vehicles—the GA3S sedan and GS4 crossover/SUV—at the Shanghai auto show in April. The company aims to launch at least seven new electrified models in coming years with combined annual sales of EVs reaching 20,000 units by 2020.

Last month GAC signed partnership agreements with several leading suppliers, including Aisin Seiki, Continental, Faurecia and Michelin. The carmaker also plans to open a research and development center in North America, but it has been vague about the timing and location of the facility.

GAC says it sold more than 380,000 vehicles worldwide last year, nearly doubling its 2015 volume.