. Changan Automotive, Ford, Mazda Sign Joint
Venture Contract For New Engine Plant In Nanjing
NANJING, China - Changan
Automotive Group, Ford Motor Company, and Mazda Motor Corporation
today announced that the three partners have signed a joint venture
contract for a new engine plant in the Jiangning Economic and Technological
Development Zone (NJDZ) at Nanjing, in the Jiangsu Province of eastern
China. The new engine plant, which is scheduled to be operational
by early 2007, will supply engines to assembly facilities in China,
including the one currently under construction in the NJDZ. The
project is subject to government approvals.
This new engine project
is named Changan Ford Mazda Engine Company Ltd. The engine company
will be owned and operated by a joint venture to be established
among Changan, Ford and Mazda.
"This growing Nanjing
project is key to our expansion plans in China," said Mark Schulz,
Ford Motor Company executive vice president, and president Asia
Pacific & Africa. "We are very pleased to sign the three-way agreement
for a second production facility in Nanjing. With the new engine
joint venture and the Changan Ford Nanjing Company vehicle assembly
facility, we will be creating more quality jobs in Nanjing. At the
same time we will expand Ford and Mazda products offered to Chinese
consumers."
On the occasion of
signing of the engine plant joint venture contract, Yin Jiaxu, chairman
and president, Changan Automotive Group, indicated that "this is
a critical step forward for the three-way partnership of Changan,
Ford and Mazda as we work together to develop the manufacturing
capability in Nanjing jointly, and to deliver more quality products
to our customers around the country."
Hisakazu Imaki, Mazda president
and chief executive officer, added, "It is our pleasure and pride that we
will produce engines in China, utilizing Mazda's most advanced manufacturing
technologies together with Changan's deep knowledge of China. Our partnerships
in China continue to help Mazda gain momentum."
In January 2005, the Chinese
central government granted approval for the 190,000 square meter joint venture
vehicle assembly plant in Nanjing. The assembly plant will have an initial
annual capacity of 160,000 vehicles, and can be quickly expanded to meet
market demand.
The new engine site is approximately
one kilometer west of the Changan Ford vehicle assembly plant currently
under construction. Groundbreaking and construction will start once the
government approvals are granted. The engine facility will be built on a
290,000 square meter parcel of land and will have a capacity of 350,000
engines annually. The plant is designed with flexibility for future expansion
and the longer term growth plans for all three companies.
Two new families of fuel-efficient
engines will be built at the new plant. Both engines will adopt state-of-the-art
technologies and will be among the top level of the engines utilized around
the world, achieving high horsepower and good fuel efficiency at the same
time. They will exceed all Chinese government regulations.
This engine plant in Nanjing
is part of the $1 billion-plus investment together with partners that Ford
Motor Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill Ford announced during his
visit to China in October 2003. This investment plan is also the basis of
Ford and Changan's strategic partnership.
