China’s Great Wall Motors is looking to purchase a plant that was on the verge of closing after Nissan announced that it would shut down all of its manufacturing locations in Spain.
Nissan said it would cease operations its three Spanish plants last year. Although it said they would close by the end of 2020, the date was pushed back as it looked for an alternative industrial project with Spanish authorities.
Now, Nissan and those authorities are in talks with China’s Great Wall Motors, according to Channel News Asia. If all goes as planned, the automaker will take over the largest of the three plants, which is in Barcelona.
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The two other plants are smaller and may be taken over by Silence, a Spanish electric motorcycle manufacturer, and QEV Technologies, which leads an electric vehicle production hub that was integrated by Inzile and Volta.
Great Wall Motors may have an interest in all three plants, though. A source told Reuters that the automaker will investigate whether or not it has a use for the two smaller plants as well.
“We are convinced we will be able to find solutions that are beneficial to everyone,” said Frank Torres, Nissan‘s industrial head in Spain, in a statement.
Great Wall Motors’ plans have not yet been made official, but sources close to the company said it could keep around 1,300 jobs at the factory. The Chinese automaker recently announced plans to launch an electric vehicle, the Ora Cat, to Europe in 2022.
