NEW DELHI: Chinese auto major Great Wall Motor (GWM) on Tuesday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government for its manufacturing facility in the state.

The company has committed an investment of USD 1 billion (about Rs 7,600 crore) in India in a phased manner with an estimated employment for over 3,000 people.

"This would be a highly automated plant in Talegaon (near Pune) with advanced robotics technology integrated in many of the production processes," Parker Shi, managing director of Indian subsidiary of GWM, said in a statement.

"Overall we are committed to USD 1 billion of investment in India in a phased manner, which is directed towards manufacturing world class intelligent and premium products, R&D centre, building supply chain and providing jobs to over 3,000 people in a phased manner," he added.

In January this year, GWM had signed an agreement to acquire the plant from GM. The factory has facilities like logistics distribution centre, training centre, project management building, administrative office building and public facilities centre. GMW will produce its EV and SUV models at the plant.

At the Auto Expo held in February this year, GWM had said it also planned to invest in battery research and development and manufacturing in India to reinforce and accelerate "India''s Electrification Strategy".