Shanghai (ZXZC)- HYCET E-Chuang Technology Co.,Ltd. (HYCET), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Great Wall Motor (GWM), celebrated on June 19 the first spade cut of its 9AT (9-speed automatic transmission) base in Yongchuan district, Chongqing, according to a report released by Chongqing Yongchuan District Government.

Involving a total investment of 1.5 billion yuan ($212,224,050), the 9AT project is launched to deploy a transmission manufacturing base in Southwest China for GWM, which consists of an assembly plant, a R&D hub, and the facilities for hydraulic controlling and processing of housings and shaft gears.

(Photo source: Chongqing Yongchuan District Government's website)

The Yongchuan-based transmission base is likely to be completed as early as the end of December 2021 with an expected capacity of 180,000 sets on an annual basis, and is projected to output an annual value of 1.4 billion yuan ($198,075,780) and tax revenue worth 450 million yuan ($63,667,215).

The transmission to be produced is GWM's self-developed and will be China's first longitudinal 9-speed automatic transmission, which is mainly targeted for GWM's premium pickups, off-road vehicles and SUVs, according to local media reports.

The 9AT project is among the 26 key projects that were kicked off at the same time. According to the local government, the building of HYCET's automotive engine production base was begun as well. With 774 million yuan ($109,507,610) worth of investment to be involved, the engine base is set to have 10 assembly lines and relevant auxiliary facilities with an annual capacity of 180,000 gasoline/diesel engines. It is expected for mass production in October 2021.

Moreover, GWM saw its SUV manufacturing project with a designed capacity of 60,000 units per year kick off in the meantime, and expects it to start production at the end of this year's November.