Sinotruk or China National Heavy-duty Truck Group signed an agreement with Qingdao West Coast New Area on Dec 19 to jointly launch a new energy commercial vehicle project in the region.

Li Qun, Party chief of Qingdao, Zhang Xinqi, mayor of Qingdao, and a delegation headed by Ma Chunji, president of Sinotruk, attended the signing ceremony.

Li said that Qingdao enjoys the advantages of location, industrial foundation, transportation and human resources in developing the automobile industry. The project is highly significant for the further enhancement of the city's competitiveness in the automobile field, as well as for promotion of industrial transformation and upgrading.

Li hoped Sinotruk will allocate more resources to Qingdao, and develop and produce more high-end products in the city.

According to the agreement, Sinotruk will invest 1.5 billion yuan ($216 million) to build a manufacturing base in the Qingdao West Coast New Area to produce electric, hybrid-powered, and hydrogen-fueled vehicles.