Local environmental regulators have approved Chery Automobile Co.'s proposal to build a 1.56 billion yuan ($240 million) assembly plant in the east China city of Wuhu to produce electric vehicles.

 

The plant will produce an electric car plus two small electric cargo wagons for city deliveries, according to the environmental agency. The vehicles will have aluminum bodies.

 

The factory, which will assemble up to 60,000 EVs a year, will launch production this year.

 

The project will enable Chery to transfer EV production from its existing plant in Wuhu, which also produces conventional gasoline-powered cars. By doing so, Chery will significantly boost overall EV production. This year, Chery plans to increase its annual EV sales to 33,000 vehicles, up from 14,147 last year.

 

Chery is headquartered in Wuhu. Last year, the company sold 444,690 conventional vehicles, down 0.5 percent according to Turbo Insight, a Beijing-based consultancy.

 

The company also has joint ventures with Jaguar Land Rover and Kenon Holdings of Singapore in China.