Last week Chongqing Lifan Industry Group Co announced that it will invest heavily in overseas operations in the next three years in a bid to more than double its exports to 120,000 vehicles in 2015, some 40 percent of its total sales.
Lifan’s exports are likely to hit 53,000 units this year, said the company.
The private-sector company that got its start making motorcycles is now the top Chinese automaker in Russia, where it delivered nearly 15,000 vehicles in the first three quarters.
Adding to the current lineup of sedans, its first SUV – the Lifan X60 – will go on sale in Russia next month, when it will also open its first directly operated showroom in the neighboring country.
Lifan started its overseas business in 2007 and has since built assembly lines in Russia, Ethiopia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Uruguay and Iraq.