Recent speculation that the Dongfeng Nissan joint venture would erect a car plant in China’s northeast has proved true. A new facility in the city of Dalian is due to come on stream in 2014.
Nissan made the announcement earlier on 25 June but is yet to say which model(s) would be manufactured there, noting only the facility is for Nissan-branded vehicles.
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“China is our largest market today and will continue to be one of Nissan’s most important engines of growth,” said Hiroto Saikawa, the executive vice president of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., at the groundbreaking ceremony. “Together with the Huadu plant in the south and the Xiangyang and Zhengzhou plants in central China, the Dalian plant in the northeast will be an important addition to our local supply base to realise our sales target of two million units in China by 2015.”
Dongfeng Nissan’s investment in the new manufacturing complex will be RMB 5bn (USD 800m). The plant’s annual capacity has been set at 150,000 units but Nissan’s statement also says that this will “expand up to 300,000”, without naming a year.
In a related development, Dongfeng Nissan has also signed a contract to deliver 1,000 Venucia-branded electric vehicles by 2014 for a pilot program to be conducted by the Dalian Municipal Government by 2014.
Dongfeng Nissan revealed the e-concept, a preview of Venucia’s first plug-in vehicle, at the Beijing motor show in April 2012. The concept was a rebadged Nissan Leaf. It may thus be Nissan’s strategy to give its Chinese partner the by-then four-year old EV tech for this car.
Author: Glenn Brooks
