STORY: China's Great Wall Motor is setting its sights on Europe.

The automaker is scouting locations for its first factory there, as part of moves to revive flagging sales in the region. 

It aims to produce 300,000 vehicles a year in Europe by 2029.

This is the first update on GWM's European ambitions since 2023, when the company said it had big plans for the region and had begun site selection for a plant.

Spain and Hungary are among the countries now under consideration, according to Parker Shi, the president of GWM International.

He spoke to Reuters at the company's headquarters in the northern China city of Baoding: 

"We are looking for some countries who have the great advantage, especially (when it comes to) labour charge (cost). And also, we have the consumer supply chains. You know, some countries, they need a lot of the components, a company over there which is (that) can offer the lot of the components (needed) for us because we're also considering about localisation in the European Union."

Chinese automakers are pushing overseas expansion to escape a fierce price war at home.

But export drives have been hit by higher tariffs on their cars in the EU and other regions. 

In Europe, GWM will face stiff competition from local brands and Chinese rivals like BYD, which is thought to view Spain as its top candidate for a third European plant, after Hungary and Turkey.

GWM's EV brand Ora saw registrations in Europe plunge 41% last year, according to analysts at JATO Dynamics. 

That's even as its global overseas sales rose to a record. 

Now GWM's goal is annual sales of 1 million cars overseas by 2030, which Shi says will mean winning over sophisticated consumers in Europe: 

"For the European market, it is a very developed market. The customers are more rational, now more rational. They will consider about the resale value, they will consider about the after-sales service, they will consider about the spare parts supply. They will consider about the experience of the after-sales service and the sales experience."

The planned factory will produce cars across all powertrains--from conventional engines to fully electric.

GWM hopes to convince European buyers with models like the Ora 5 compact SUV, which is due to debut in the region in mid-2026.