FAW Group has reportedly signed a Memorandum of Understanding to construct a vehicle plant in Rason, a port city in North Korea’s far north east, close to the Chinese and Russian borders.

North Korea’s car industry is famously almost non-existent, with several Western manufacturers including Fiat and Hyundai Motor having come to grief attempting to launch operations in the country.

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Now, according to a report carried by the US-based Wards Auto, China’s state-controlled FAW Group has signed a memo of understanding with the Rason regional government to build a vehicle plant. 

As yet, no media release supporting Wards’ report has appeared on FAW’s English language media portal.

FAW is based in the southern city of Jilin, close to where the proposed car plant would be. The company is the largest of China’s vehicle makers and produces vehicles under the FAW, FAW-Xiali, FAW-HaiMa, Oley, Bestern and Hongqi/Red Flag brands. It has car making joint ventures with Volkswagen & Audi, Toyota, and Mazda as well as one for LCVs with General Motors.

Author: Glenn Brooks

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