JOHANNESBURG - Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor (GWM) is weighing ‌whether to share a manufacturing facility with another carmaker in South Africa or acquire an existing plant if available and has ​held talks with Mercedes-Benz as it considers its options, regional executives said on Wednesday.

Chinese automakers seeking global growth have built more ​car factories in ​overseas markets to protect themselves as foreign regulators consider imposing measures against imports of Chinese-made vehicles.

"We do have discussions with Mercedes-Benz from last year and we did also have discussions with Nissan," ⁠Kevin Li, Managing Director of GWM South Africa said during a Haval H6 plug-in hybrid SUV launch presentation.

"Contract assembly is one option. Another option is buying a plant, because (building) a new plant takes time."

Li said GWM continues to engage with multiple stakeholders on local production and plans to meet the South African government in China ​during the upcoming annual ‌auto show.

GWM was ⁠outbid by Chinese ⁠rival Chery Automobile in using Nissan's plant in South Africa, which the maker of Tiggo SUVs has agreed to buy.

Chief ​Operating Officer Conrad Groenewald said the company is still assessing which model it ‌would produce locally.

"There is a new product that we launched, ⁠a global product called codename EC15. My vote's on that one, because I think that's a better product, giving us more opportunity for localization and for potential exports into Europe," Groenewald said.

Mercedes-Benz South Africa said in an emailed response that the company's East London plant remains focused on producing the C-Class and that it does not comment on speculation about future product portfolio and production planning process.

It noted, however, that "customer and market requirements are constantly changing. Mercedes-Benz strives to ensure that all its production sites remain globally competitive, are on an optimal operating point and adapted to new requirements whenever necessary."

Last year, Mercedes-Benz South Africa CEO Andreas ‌Brand told Reuters that the East London plant had previously produced vehicles for different ⁠brands, noting that "there's technically no reason it couldn't happen again."

GWM, with a ​market share of 5% in South Africa and ranked number six in vehicle sales, expanded its Haval H6 line-up with the launch of a new plug-in hybrid variant on Wednesday, hoping to capture a growing share of customers ​who are opting ‌for hybrid and electric vehicles.

It's aiming to capitalize on the growing compact SUV segment, ⁠which is popular for families and has ​a larger share in the SUV market.