U.S. automaker General Motors (GM) on Monday said it would invest US$5 billion with China’s state-owned carmaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, to develop jointly small vehicles for emerging markets including Brazil.
The two will develop compact cars and sports utility vehicles under the Chevrolet brand, news agency Reuters reported.
Sales will start in 2019 in growing emerging markets, including China, Brazil and India, according to the report. News outlet Agence France-Presse additionally reported the company hopes production will gradually rise; to more than 2 million vehicles a year.
“We are taking significant advantage of the global scale we do have,” GM’s President, Dan Ammann, said in a press briefing on Monday.
According to Reuters, GM’s team will visit Brazil this week, outlining its investments there related to the project. GM said the US$5-billion investments would cover its share of the cost of engineering vehicles and retooling factories.