本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Nissan Unveils $1B Investment in China
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 11:38 a.m. ET
BEIJING (AP) -- Joining a surge of investment in China by foreign automakers, Nissan Motor Co. of Japan said it would put $1 billion into a venture to make cars, trucks and buses with a Chinese partner.
``China is Nissan's new frontier,'' Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn said Thursday in a statement.
Nissan and its Chinese partner Dongfeng Motor Group Corp. said they aim to create a ``globally competitive'' producer with annual sales of 550,000 vehicles by 2006.
The Japanese company said it plans to spend $163 million to $245 million by then on developing new products for the venture.
The venture marks another major jump in investment in China by foreign automakers, who are seeking a share of the country's small but fast-growing car market and want to take advantage of its lower manufacturing costs.
General Motors of the United States, Germany's Volkswagen and Nissan's Japanese rival Honda already make cars in China.
Japan's biggest automaker, Toyota, announced a $1.2 billion venture last month with China's FAW Group Corp. The companies said they plan to produce 300,000 to 400,000 passenger cars a year by 2010.
Industry analysts said Nissan's big investment will help it to catch up with Honda and Toyota, which both have established Chinese networks of suppliers and partners.
``The planned investment is big but is also essential in order for Nissan, which will basically start from scratch in China, to compete fully with Toyota and Honda,'' said Shotaro Noguchi of Nikko Salomon Smith Barney in Tokyo.
Nissan and Dongfeng said they each would hold 50 percent of their new venture, to be called Dongfeng Motor Corp., though they didn't disclose how much Dongfeng was investing.
Their deal, reached after 14 months of negotiations, still requires approval from Chinese regulators.
It ranks close in size to Nissan's $1.3 billion spent on a new U.S. plant in Canton, Miss.
They said the venture will make Dongfeng's buses, trucks and commercial vehicles, as well as a full range of Nissan automobiles.
Nissan cars are to be manufactured at Dongfeng's facilities at Xiangfan, in the central province of Hubei, and Guangzhou, the capital of the southern province of Guangdong.
Plans call for introducing six locally made Nissan passenger cars by 2006, beginning with its Sunny sedan next year. The company's Bluebird sedan already is made in China.
Honda pioneered manufacturing in China for Japanese automakers. Its first vehicle rolled off the assembly line of its joint venture with Guangzhou Auto Group Corp. in 1999.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 11:38 a.m. ET
BEIJING (AP) -- Joining a surge of investment in China by foreign automakers, Nissan Motor Co. of Japan said it would put $1 billion into a venture to make cars, trucks and buses with a Chinese partner.
``China is Nissan's new frontier,'' Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn said Thursday in a statement.
Nissan and its Chinese partner Dongfeng Motor Group Corp. said they aim to create a ``globally competitive'' producer with annual sales of 550,000 vehicles by 2006.
The Japanese company said it plans to spend $163 million to $245 million by then on developing new products for the venture.
The venture marks another major jump in investment in China by foreign automakers, who are seeking a share of the country's small but fast-growing car market and want to take advantage of its lower manufacturing costs.
General Motors of the United States, Germany's Volkswagen and Nissan's Japanese rival Honda already make cars in China.
Japan's biggest automaker, Toyota, announced a $1.2 billion venture last month with China's FAW Group Corp. The companies said they plan to produce 300,000 to 400,000 passenger cars a year by 2010.
Industry analysts said Nissan's big investment will help it to catch up with Honda and Toyota, which both have established Chinese networks of suppliers and partners.
``The planned investment is big but is also essential in order for Nissan, which will basically start from scratch in China, to compete fully with Toyota and Honda,'' said Shotaro Noguchi of Nikko Salomon Smith Barney in Tokyo.
Nissan and Dongfeng said they each would hold 50 percent of their new venture, to be called Dongfeng Motor Corp., though they didn't disclose how much Dongfeng was investing.
Their deal, reached after 14 months of negotiations, still requires approval from Chinese regulators.
It ranks close in size to Nissan's $1.3 billion spent on a new U.S. plant in Canton, Miss.
They said the venture will make Dongfeng's buses, trucks and commercial vehicles, as well as a full range of Nissan automobiles.
Nissan cars are to be manufactured at Dongfeng's facilities at Xiangfan, in the central province of Hubei, and Guangzhou, the capital of the southern province of Guangdong.
Plans call for introducing six locally made Nissan passenger cars by 2006, beginning with its Sunny sedan next year. The company's Bluebird sedan already is made in China.
Honda pioneered manufacturing in China for Japanese automakers. Its first vehicle rolled off the assembly line of its joint venture with Guangzhou Auto Group Corp. in 1999.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net