Dongfeng to build engines for own brand cars in 2011
Dongfeng Motor Corp. will start building engines for its own brand of cars in the second half of 2011, a spokesman told Automotive News China.
Construction of the engine plant will start later this month, the spokesman said. The plant will start producing 1.6-liter engines for Aelus sedans, with an initial annual production capacity of 60,000 units.
The factory will begin building 2.0-liter engines at a later date and its annual capacity eventually will increase to 300,000 units.
Further details about the engine plants and Dongfeng's powertrain plans have yet to be disclosed.
In 2008, Dongfeng, a leading domestic manufacturer of commercial vehicles, started making its own brand cars. To date, it has launched the three-box Aelus S30 sedan and a hatchback variant, the Aelus H30.
These two models are fitted either with a gasoline engine and manual transmission from PSA Peugeot Citroen SA or an automatic transmission from Aisin Seiki Co.
Dongfeng also plans to build its own transmissions, the spokesman said. Details are not available.
