Daimler AG has sold a factory in Brazil to China's Great Wall Motor Co for an undisclosed sum, the German car maker said on Wednesday, marking the Chinese manufacturer's arrival in Latin America's largest economy.
Daimler had said in December it would wind down car production in Brazil, shutting down a factory dedicated to producing Mercedes-Benz luxury vehicles since 2016 in the city of Iracemapolis in Sao Paulo state.
The Mercedes plant had opened when Brazilian industrial policy forced several car makers to open plants if they wanted to sell big volumes locally, leading to overcapacity as demand has recovered slowly from a deep downturn.
Daimler said in December that a drop in sales of luxury cars during the Covid-19 pandemic had made it unsustainable to keep the factory open.
The factory and its grounds cover 1.2-million square metres, Daimler said in its release.
Great Wall, in a separate statement, said the factory will have an annual production capacity of 100,000 vehicles.
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