By Kate Yuan

(JW Insights) Jul 5 -- China's SAIC Motor (上汽集团) will build a plant in Europe to produce electric vehicles and is working on the site selection, the company said at a media briefing on July 4.

SAIC sold 86,000 new energy vehicles in June, hitting a new high for the year, with sales ranking second among Chinese automakers. In the first half of this year, its new energy vehicle sales set new monthly records every month, with second-quarter sales of over 230,000 units, a 61.9% increase from the first quarter, according to the company.

Shanghai-based SAIC has been actively expanding its global business and established three overseas production bases in Thailand, Indonesia, and India, as well as a CKD factory in Pakistan. The company operate three innovative R&D centers in Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, and London.

It has also established multiple regional marketing and service centers in Europe, South America, the Middle East, North Africa, Australia and New Zealand, and the ASEAN region. In addition, its logistics arm SAIC Anji Logistics has opened four self-owned international shipping routes.