Automotive News

Shanghai, May 18 (Gasgoo.com) China's automaker Jiangling Motor, a commercial van partner of Ford Motor, has announced a plan to invest 600 million yuan ($87.9 million) this year to expand capacity, media reported yesterday, citing the company's top executive.

According to Wang Xigao, chairman of Jiangling Motor Corp., the investment aims to expand the capacity of the company's stamping, painting and spare parts factories. The expansion will lift Jiangling's annual production capacity to 210,000 vehicles.

The automaker, located in central China's Jiangxi province, also plans to launch its upgraded model of the Transit van in May, which will also be exported to overseas markets. By April 30, the company had sold out 6 million Ford Transit vans it produced.

Through a local distributor, Jiangling has relaunched its Landwind brand in Europe with a new minivan, five years after an SUV built by the automaker was pulled from European markets after failing a crash test run by Germany's largest auto club ADAC.

In April, Jiangling produced 15,620 vehicles, up 49.2% from a year earlier, and sold 16,226 units, up 60.0%. In the first four months of the year, the company's output increased 58.18% to 52,708 and sales grew 67.27% to 57,526 units.