Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Co., Ltd (Dongfeng Nissan) has announced plans to invest an additional 600 million RMB (US$74m) to boost the Huadu plant’s vehicle production capacity. Capacity will be raised from 150,000 units at present to 270,000 units by the end of the year.
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The company is aiming for vehicle sales of 200,000 units in 2006. In 2005, Dongfeng Nissan sold 157,516 vehicles, up 159% compared with 2004, making the company the fastest growing automaker in China. It also said it will increase the number of its exclusive dealerships to 250 by end of 2006 from 200 at present.
Separately Dongeng-Nissan has announced that its newly-built engine plant in Huadu, Guangzhou will produce two all-new engines.
The new engine plant, which has an annual capacity of 180,000 units, will produce the HR16DE gasoline engine. The MR20DE engine will be added to the production line in the future. The inline, four-cylinder, all-aluminum engines, which were jointly developed by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., and its alliance partner Renault SA, offer improved fuel economy and acceleration when compared with previous engines of their size.
“The start of engine production at the Huadu plant confirms our on-going commitment to providing Chinese customers with the best value,” said Mr Yoshida, vice president of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd., and managing director of Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company at a ceremony to mark the completion of the plant. “As a Chinese company, we recognise the importance of promoting localisation through improved R&D capability so as to better serve customer needs.”
With a displacement of 1.6 liters, the HR16DE engine is the most powerful engine of its size made in China. The engine will be fitted on the Tiida hatchback (Chinese name: Qida) and the Tiida sedan (Chinese name: Yida) for the Chinese market. The new MR20DE engine will be fitted on the “Bluebird Slyphy” (Xuan yi ), a new sedan model to be built by Dongfeng Nissan this autumn.
The plant’s production capacity will be expanded to 360,000 units by 2008 with all its engines to be fitted on models made by Dongfeng Nissan’s Huadu plant.
The Huadu engine plant features the Nissan Integrated Manufacturing System (NIMS), an important element of the Nissan Production Way, which significantly improves production efficiency by allowing two engine types to be manufactured simultaneously on one line.
