Hong Kong-listed Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor Group Co's joint venture with Japan's Nissan Motor Co yesterday unveiled an ambitious plan to expand in the world's second biggest and fastest-growing vehicle market.
The largest Sino-foreign auto tie-up, Dongfeng Motor Co Ltd (DFL), hopes to move 1 million vehicles annually by 2012, up from 610,000 units last year, its President Kimiyasu Nakamura said in Beijing.
The 2012 goal includes 600,000 Nissan-brand passenger cars and 400,000 commercial vehicles under the Nissan and Dongfeng badges.
Nakamura said DFL aims to grow its turnover to 100 billion yuan from 59.32 billion yuan in the period. To achieve the target, the venture plans to introduce 10 new passenger car models and five new commercial vehicle models within the next five years, he said.
He said DFL will build a 1 billion yuan light commercial vehicle plant in the city of Zhengzhou, which would be operational in 2010 with an annual production capacity of 120,000 units.
The venture also expects to export 10 percent of its commercial vehicles by 2012, up from 5 percent last year, he said. It sold 16,400 commercial vehicles abroad in 2007.
Xu Ping, chairman of DFL, said it was in talks with Volvo, the world's No 2 truck producer, to collaborate in research and development of commercial vehicles.
Nakamura said DFL plans to increase the number of its dealerships to 1,430 by 2012 from 971 last year to boost sales.
To cut costs, he said it also plans to source 90 percent of transmissions, engines and other parts in China by 2012, up from 70 percent last year.
Sales of China-made vehicles rose by 19.4 percent year-on-year to 3.5 million units in the first four months of this year, according to industry data.
Full-year sales are predicted to hit 10 million units, up from 8.8 million in 2007.
The parent Dongfeng closed at HK$3.76 per share yesterday, up 3.01 percent.
Source:China Daily
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