China Automotive Systems, Inc. has announced that its subsidiary, Jingzhou Henglong Automotive Parts Co., Ltd., has entered into a multi-year agreement to supply the SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW) joint venture with its rack and pinion power steering systems.
China Automotive Systems has commenced shipments, and the steering units are intended to be primarily installed in SGMW’s Wuling Hongguang brand, a specialist in MPVs. Based on current order rates, total steering systems to be shipped by the company to SGMW could approximate 350,000 units for the 2013 year.
Go deeper with GlobalData
“As the dominant leader in steering products for the Chinese OEM local brands, this major contract win marks another key milestone in the execution of our strategy to diversify our customer base and penetrate into the Sino-foreign joint venture vehicle manufacturing segment. SGMC joins FAW Volkswagen and Dongfeng Peugot Citroen as our customers in this sector, which provides additional verification of our superior research and development program, stringent quality control and world-class production capability,” said Mr Hanlin Chen, Chairman of China Automotive Systems.
“According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, sales of MPV vehicles climbed by 50% to over 300,000 units in the first quarter of 2013. We are capturing more market share in one of the fastest growing vehicle segments in China and we are pleased to be supporting SGMW’s robust growth,” Chen added.
