Chinese automaker China FAW Group Corporation will broaden its market in South Africa and Russia through exporting technology and capital, an official of the company said on Friday. China FAW (First Automobile Works) Group Corp has invested 500 million yuan ($78.54 million) to establish a plant in South Africa in March this year, which will produce 5,000 trucks a year, according to Xu Jianyi, chairman of the company.

The plant will be expanded as an overseas manufacturing base with an annual output of 50,000 passenger vehicles, Xu added.

“The program of developing a manufacturing base in Russia is ongoing, and western Europe as well as the United States have also showed willingness to cooperate with our company,” said Wang Lizhi, general manager of FAW Jiefang Automotive Company Ltd, a truck-making subsidiary of China FAW.

To increase its competitiveness in the international automobile market, China FAW has accelerated construction of truck and saloon car manufacturing bases and sought overseas markets in South Africa, Mexico, Russia and Ethiopia in recent years.

Founded in 1953, the State-owned enterprise is now one of the largest vehicle manufactures in China, and ranks among the top 500 corporations worldwide. In 2011, China FAW sold more than 2.6 million vehicles and earned 346.4 billion yuan ($54.41 billion) in revenue.