Second attempt: GWM begins production in Bulgaria

At the end of 2025, Great Wall Motor evaluated various locations for its first factory in Europe. Many indications suggested that the decision would likely fall on Spain or Hungary. However, the company announced on its Tech Day in Milan on October 27, 2026, that vehicle production in Europe, such as for the Ora 5, will instead take place in Bulgaria.

Image: Ora

GWM does not intend to remain a imported brand in Europe in the long term. The Chinese conglomerate aims to produce around 300,000 vehicles per year at its European factories by 2029. Behind this strategy are, among other things, EU tariffs on Chinese imported electric vehicles, which GWM can avoid by manufacturing locally. To this end, GWM already examined European locations for its first factory in 2025. Spain and Hungary were among the contenders, according to Parker Shi, president of GWM International, as reported by Reuters.

GWM now announced that it has chosen Bahovitsa in Bulgaria as its location. Bahovitsa (in Lovech Province) is known for its automotive industry, and GWM attempted to establish a foothold there in 2012 as the first Chinese automaker in Europe by setting up a plant for pre-assembled components (SKD). However, instead of expanding the manufacturing facility, production came to a halt in 2016 due to the bankruptcy of the Bulgarian partner Litex Motors. The factory buildings were taken over by the Bulgarian Automotive Industry (BAI).

Starting in 2027, GWM plans to take over this now upgraded plant. Series production of the electric compact SUV Ora 5 is set to begin in the first quarter, with the vehicle already available in Europe as an imported model in hybrid and gasoline versions. The plant will remain owned by BAI, which operates as an independent contract manufacturer producing the quantities specified in the contract. According to Anton Dontschew, BAI’s director of international business, this move marks only the beginning of a broader partnership.

The plant in Bahovitsa is planned to have a production capacity of 50,000 vehicles per year. To achieve the goal of producing 300,000 cars in Europe by 2029, GWM must establish additional production sites in Europe or significantly expand existing capacities in the coming years. “From local research and development to on-site manufacturing, we are building a fully localized ecosystem for Europe. Our goal is to grow together with European customers and partners through long-term investments and partnerships,” said GWM’s CTO Nicole Wu at the company’s Tech Day 2026 in Milan, Italy. “We will start with SKD assembly, but source individual components locally from the beginning.”