(Yicai) Oct. 16 -- Chinese automotive giant GAC Group has unveiled plans to expand in Europe after its sales in the domestic market shrank in the first three quarters of the year.

GAC vehicle models will enter some European markets this year and achieve full coverage of Europe by 2028, according to the Guangzhou-based company’s European Market Plan unveiled by General Manager Feng Xingya at the Paris Motor Show that kicked off on Oct. 14.

The reason why GAC chose to foray into the European market now is because the automotive industry is experiencing a transition from fossil fuel-powered cars to electric vehicles, Feng explained. In fact, GAC will only bring its new energy vehicle products to Europe, such as its pure EVs and plug-in hybrid EVs.

GAC plans to build a European transit warehouse next year to improve the efficiency of its parts supply and create a service guarantee system covering most European markets by 2028, according to the plan.

When asked about the possible construction of a plant in Europe, Feng said that GAC adheres to the principle of “production only where there is demand,” so it will decide to move in that direction only if sufficient demand supports it. Surely, the company will not build a factory in Europe only to solve the additional import tariff issue, he pointed out.

GAC’s sales plunged 25 percent to about 183,000 units in September from the same period last year, with the total for the first three quarters of the year falling 26 percent to nearly 1.34 million units from a year earlier. About 282,000 of them were NEVs, down 28 percent in the period.

In the nine months ended Sept. 30, GAC exported around 95,000 vehicles, an increase of 112 percent from a year ago. According to the European Market Plan, the carmaker aims to achieve overseas sales of 500,000 units by 2030.

Editor: Futura Costaglione