Great Wall Motors (GWM) confirmed at the end of last week that it has agreed to buy General Motors' (GM) remaining car plant in Talegaon in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

The acquisition, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2020, will speed up the Chinese automaker's entry into one of the world's most promising automotive markets.

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Analysts expect the Indian vehicle market to become the third largest after China and the US by the mid-2020s.

Last year, GWM was reported to have been in negotiations to acquire the plant jointly with SAIC Motor.

But SAIC decided the plant it acquired in 2017, a former GM facility located in Halol in the state of Gujurat, was sufficient for the foreseeable future given the sharp downturn last year in the Indian vehicle market.

GWM and GM reportedly agreed a purchase price of US$250m-US$300m for the 160,000 units a year vehicle assembly plant.

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Great Wall's vice-president of global strategy, Liu Xiangshang, said in a statement: "The Indian market has great potential with rapid economic growth and a good investment environment.

"Entering the Indian market is an important step for Great Wall Motors' global strategy."

Great Wall, one of China's largest producers of SUVs, said it would launch its Haval and electric vehicle brands in India, adding more detailed plans would be made public in February at the Delhi auto show.

Western automakers such as Fiat Chrysler, Ford and GM have scaled back or exited the Indian vehicle industry altogether in recent years as they struggled to compete on price with long established companies such as Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor.