Shanghai (ZXZC)- Great Wall Motor (GWM), China's biggest SUV and pickup manufacturer, is going up significantly ramp up its engine output through a wholly-owned subsidiary to cope with the scarcity of engine capacity.

HYCET Power System (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of GWM's wholly-owned HYCET E-Chuang Technology Co.,Ltd, plans to construct an engine manufacturing base at Jiangsu Yangzhong Auto Parts Industrial Park, according to an environmental impact assessment report from the Department of Ecology and Environment of Jiangsu Province.

(Photo source: HYCET's WeChat account)

Involving a total investment of around RMB1.612 billion, the project includes the building of eight assembly lines focusing on cylinder block, cylinder head and crankshaft, etc. Upon the completion, the facility will be capable of manufacturing 400,000 engines per year, of which 25,000 units and 15,000 units will be from the EB and EN series respectively.

The project is set to be closed in June, 2020, and is expected to relieve the engine capacity shortage as the automaker previously revealed that the auto parts capacity of its Xushui plant nearly reached a saturation point.

By spinning off the auto parts businesses like HYCET and SVOLT, GWM has built an efficient component supply system. In spite of the prolonged downturn for the overall auto market, the Baoding-based automaker attained a year-on-year growth of 3.81% in Jan.-Nov. sales. In a bid to maintain the rising momentum, it is necessary for the company to correspondingly expand its auto parts capacity. Besides, some reports said that GWM was considering the public listing for its component arms, a possible method to further enhance its strength in terms of auto parts supply.