Nissan plans 5B yuan plant in Dalian
Nissan Motor Co., the biggest Japanese automaker in China, will build a 5 billion yuan ($785 million) plant in the northeast city of Dalian, a person with knowledge of the plan said.
The plant is part of Nissan's 30 billion yuan investment in China through 2015.
The Dalian plant will be jointly owned by Nissan and its local partner, Dongfeng Motor Group Co. It will have an initial capacity of 25,000 vehicles when it begins production in 2014, the source told Reuters. Capacity will rise to 120,000 units by 2015 and 240,000 units by 2017.
"They will be making Nissan's more upscale SUVs, sedans and MPVs in the new plant," the source said. "A groundbreaking ceremony has been planned for later this month."
Executives at the joint venture could not immediately be reached for comment.
China is Nissan's largest market even though it arrived much later than General Motors and Volkswagen AG. Last July, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn unveiled an ambitious target to boost annual sales in China to 2.3 million vehicles in 2015.
A production base in Dalian, the wealthiest coastal city in the northeast, would give Nissan easy access to a regional market where Volkswagen and Toyota have been making their Jetta and Corolla models for years.
"Nissan will become a major rival for Volkswagen and Toyota in north China with the new plant," said Sheng Ye, associate research director for Greater China at consultancy Ipsos. "It will be cheaper and faster to ship parts to Dalian compared to Wuhan as Dalian is a major port city not that far from Japan."
Dalian also had attracted Subaru, which sought approval for a factory there for its ill-fated venture with Chery Automobile Co.
The Dalian plant will be jointly owned by Nissan and its local partner, Dongfeng Motor Group Co. It will have an initial capacity of 25,000 vehicles when it begins production in 2014, the source told Reuters. Capacity will rise to 120,000 units by 2015 and 240,000 units by 2017.
"They will be making Nissan's more upscale SUVs, sedans and MPVs in the new plant," the source said. "A groundbreaking ceremony has been planned for later this month."
Executives at the joint venture could not immediately be reached for comment.
China is Nissan's largest market even though it arrived much later than General Motors and Volkswagen AG. Last July, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn unveiled an ambitious target to boost annual sales in China to 2.3 million vehicles in 2015.
A production base in Dalian, the wealthiest coastal city in the northeast, would give Nissan easy access to a regional market where Volkswagen and Toyota have been making their Jetta and Corolla models for years.
"Nissan will become a major rival for Volkswagen and Toyota in north China with the new plant," said Sheng Ye, associate research director for Greater China at consultancy Ipsos. "It will be cheaper and faster to ship parts to Dalian compared to Wuhan as Dalian is a major port city not that far from Japan."
Dalian also had attracted Subaru, which sought approval for a factory there for its ill-fated venture with Chery Automobile Co.
