Preserje, 24 October (STA) - The Chinese car maker Dongfeng has opened its first sales and technical centre in Slovenia. Located near Preserje, some 10 kilometres southwest of Ljubljana, the new centre is operated by importer Plan-net Avto. Four electric and three petrol models are currently available.
The opening on Wednesday evening was addressed by Chinese Ambassador to Slovenia Wang Shunqing, who said that Dongfeng had a long history and strong technical capabilities.
The ambassador said that Slovenia was interested in cooperation with Chinese makers of EVs, and he thanked the country for voting against higher EU tariffs on Chinese EV imports. "Tariffs are not the right way to resolve the differences," he said.
Having entered Slovenia's market only a year ago, Dongfeng expects to sell some 800 cars this year, but then a doubling or even a tripling in sales is expected over the course of the next five years, Xie Qian, the general manager of Dongfeng EU regional headquarters, told Chinese news agency Xinhua.
Jernej Salecl, director general of the Directorate for Industry, Business and Internationalisation at the Ministry of Economy, said that Chinese investments were very welcome in Slovenia.
Plan-net Avto CEO Marko Femc meanwhile said that China was leading the way in EV development. He believes other countries should partner with China in this sector.
In the run up to the opening, Femc told the Avtomobilnost car show on public broadcaster TV Slovenija that the only way forward was for China to move a part of its production capacities to Europe.
"Whether it will be 30%, 50% or 70% of its Europe sales is a matter of political agreement," he said. He hopes Slovenia will be able to take this opportunity, but is worried about long zoning procedures and about apparent reserve toward Chinese businesses.
According to the news portal Siol, Chinese brands hold a growing share of the Slovenian automotive market. A decade ago they were virtually unknown to Slovenian motorists, but now three brands, MG, Geely and Forthing, are among the 30 best selling makes in Slovenia.
Siol also says that a ship with the first large shipment of Dongfeng cars will dock at the Koper port next month.