Great Wall and Litex Motor agree $6m Bulgaria assembly plant deal
Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor and Bulgaria’s Litex Motor have signed a $6 million agreement to build a 50,000-unit assembly plant in Lovech, aiming for EU market access.
Great Wall Motor has signed a $6 million (EUR 4 million) contract with Bulgaria’s Litex Motor to build an assembly plant in Lovech, Bulgaria. The agreement was finalised on 15 October 2009 during a ceremony attended by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping.
The project will see the construction of a facility capable of assembling up to 50,000 vehicles per year. Great Wall and Litex Motor plan to produce four models at the site: an SUV, a pickup and two saloons, all of which have received European Union approvals. The first vehicles are expected to leave the production line in the first half of 2011.
For Great Wall, the move marks its first assembly operation within the European Union. Bulgaria’s EU membership offers the Chinese manufacturer a strategic foothold for accessing both EU and non-EU markets with zero or reduced tariffs, potentially making the plant a hub for regional exports.
Strategic significance for Great Wall and Bulgaria
The Lovech plant is expected to support local employment and supply chains, though specific job numbers were not disclosed at the contract signing. For Bulgaria, the investment aligns with efforts to attract foreign manufacturers and revive its automotive sector, which has seen limited activity since the collapse of domestic car production in the 1990s.
The four models planned for production have received EU certification, allowing them to be sold across member states without additional homologation. This is a key factor in Great Wall’s export strategy, which has seen Chinese manufacturers increasingly seek assembly or distribution bases within Europe to overcome import barriers. The Bulgarian plant follows a similar approach to other manufacturers establishing local production to serve European markets, such as Renault’s investment in Algeria and Dacia’s expansion in Romania.
Model line-up and market plans
While the agreement confirms four models for initial production, Great Wall has not publicly named the specific vehicles. The line-up will include at least one SUV, a pickup and two saloons. All are intended for sale in Bulgaria and for export to other EU countries, leveraging the plant’s tariff-free status. The company has indicated that the models have already passed EU type approval, streamlining their entry into new markets.
- SUV (model name not specified)
- Pickup (model name not specified)
- Two saloons (model names not specified)
The Great Wall-Litex Motor venture is among the first major Chinese automotive investments in Eastern Europe. If successful, it could encourage further Chinese manufacturing projects targeting EU access, following a trend of global automakers seeking local assembly to reduce costs and regulatory hurdles.
