Nissan Motor Co., the biggest Japanese carmaker in China, will invest 5 billion yuan ($784 million) to build a new plant in the northeastern city of Dalian to cater to demand in the world’s biggest vehicle market.
The factory in Liaoning province will be able to make 150,000 cars a year when it starts production in 2014, and this may be expanded to 300,000 units in the future, according to Nissan’s China venture in a press release Monday. The plant will be its sixth manufacturing site in the country.
“Nissan’s focus has been in the southern part of China and it needs to expand to the northeast to accommodate its growth,” Nissan Executive Vice President Hiroto Saikawa told reporters at an event in Dalian Monday. “The new plant is very important to Nissan’s development in China.”
Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn is increasing production capacity in China, Nissan’s largest market, to meet an expected tripling in vehicle ownership in the world’s most populous nation. The Yokohama, Japan-based automaker plans to introduce about 30 models in China by 2015 and to almost double its deliveries to more than 2.3 million units.
(Bloomberg)
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
