(Yicai) Oct. 23 -- Great Wall Motor is proceeding with the site selection for its European factory and will not slow down its overseas expansion even though the European Union has launched a countervailing investigation into pure electric vehicles imported from China, the president of the Chinese carmaker said.

Great Wall Motor will roll out more electric cars in Europe, accelerate the construction of European research and development teams and introduce more new energy and intelligent technologies and resources into Europe, Mu Feng said on social media.

Europe is one of Great Wall Motor’s core strategic markets, so it will strengthen ties with European partners, lay out a complete business chain from research to production and sales, and continue to expand its overseas footprint, Mu said.

All businesses need a fair and just trade environment, and Great Wall Motor will abide by the laws of the regions it operates in, Mu said. China and Europe have closely cooperated in the automobile industry for more than 40 years, and have many common interests.

“Great Wall Motor is inviting 300 dealers from 32 countries in Latin America, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the EU, Australia and New Zealand to its headquarters in Baoding, northern Hebei province from Oct. 24 to Oct. 26 to introduce its latest products and services,” Mu added.

Great Wall Motor has been expanding its overseas footprint in the past year. The company’s foreign sales soared 90 percent in the first nine months from a year ago to 210,000 units. So far, it has sold over 1.3 million autos abroad. The company’s autos are available in more than 170 countries and regions, with more than 700 overseas sales channels.

Editor: Kim Taylor