Tunisia: Chinese Car Maker SAIC to Build Hub

Chinese Car maker SAIC will turn Tunisia into one of its regional hubs outside China, under an agreement between the Chinese firm and Tunisia’s Meninx Holding.

The signing of the agreement between the two firms took place on the sidelines of 3rd China-Africa Cooperation Forum, which was held September 3-4 in the Chinese capital, Beijing.

Under the agreement, initialed by Meninx Holding Director General, Mehdi Tamarziste, and SAIC’s Head of international operations, M. Lin, the Chinese firm seeks to make the North African country one its overseas regional hubs.

The project will come into effect after a joint Chinese-Tunisian commission gives the go-ahead, Huffpost Tunisia reports.

The joint commission was set up during the signing ceremony.

Shanghai-based SAIC Motor is China’s largest car maker. The firm has been actively seeking to produce vehicles abroad to gain closer access to customers as it aims at reaching one million overseas car sale by 2025, South China Morning Post reported in March.

“We hope that by 2025, overseas sales comprising a combination of exports and overseas manufacturing could reach a scale measurable by the millions,” SAIC’s chairman Chen Hong said.

The largest Chinese car exporter saw its figures jump by almost a third to 170,000 units during the year.

The company outside China is present in Thailand, Indonesia and India. It also possesses research and innovation centers in Britain, the United States and Israel, and 13 sales and marketing offices in the Middle East, South America, Australia and Europe.