GAIG to invest in R&D base

The Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group (GAIG) will establish a research and development (R&D) production base in Fanyu District in the southern city of China, investing 6.8 billion yuan (US$993 million). GAIG bought a 1.37 million square meter industrial park in Fanyu District for 396.06 million yuan (US$57.8 million). The production base will mainly produce homegrown passenger vehicles, mainly cars, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and multipurpose vehicles (MPVs), with the first vehicle expected to roll off the line in 2010. Upon completion of the first phase of construction in 2010, the production base will contribute 1.5 billion yuan (US$219 million) to Fanyu’s tax revenue, the Fanyu governmental predicts. (December 4, 2008)