The plant will be located in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, close to an existing flat-glass production site in that city. Saint-Gobain also has a glass plant in Nanjing, plus a processing facility in Shanghai.

According to a statement issued by Saint Gobain, the new Qingdao plant will gradually increase production until 2014, when it will produce enough glass to equip 1.5 million vehicles a year.

That will double the French company's current automotive glass production capacity in China.

Saint-Gobain, the world's second largest automotive glassmaker, is counting on China and other emerging nations for the bulk of its growth. The company says it will spend two-thirds of its capital expenditures over the next five years in emerging markets.