The U.S. supplier will produce heavy-duty, Varta-brand batteries designed to handle the frequent battery charges and discharges that occur with stop-start technology.

Starting in 2013, the plant will produce 2.4 million batteries a year, according to the company. Johnson Controls has not yet chosen a location for the plant, company spokeswoman Ina Longwitz said.

A stop-start system shuts down the internal combustion engine when the vehicle comes to a full stop, such as at a traffic light. Fuel is saved by reducing the amount of time the engine idles. The technology can boost city fuel economy as much as 10 percent and boost overall fuel economy up to 5 percent.

However, automakers need beefed-up batteries that can withstand the constant usage that occurs when the battery restarts the engine. Johnson Controls' solution is a so-called "glass mat" technology that can handle the constant usage.

The new plant in China will be part of a larger global campaign by Johnson Controls to ramp up production of batteries for vehicles equipped with start-stop systems. By 2015, about 70 percent of all new vehicles will have this technology, the company estimates.

Johnson Controls will spend $280 million to expand battery production in two German plants located in Hanover and Zwickau. In addition, the company is spending $140 million to build a battery plant in Toledo, Ohio.

With new production on three continents, the company will have the ability to produce 20 million start-stop batteries a year.

The new project offers more evidence that Johnson Controls is spending heavily to establish a strong position in the Chinese market. The company's original battery plant in Shanghai could not meet demand, so Johnson Controls announced last year that it would build four additional plants at a cost of $500 million.