Gasgoo.com (Shanghai January 8) - Renault aims to begin setting the foundation for a new passenger automobile factory in Hubei's capital of Wuhan as early as this March, cjrb.cnhan.com reported today. If plans go through, the factory will be Wuhan's ninth of its kind, making the city the country's largest center for passenger automobile production.
Construction work on the 7.2 billion yuan ($1.14b) site, which will be built in cooperation with local manufacturer Dongfeng, is scheduled to commence around this May. The site is expected to begin operation in 2015.
The Wuhan site was announced over half a year ago on the official website for Hubei's Department of Environmental Protection, where it was listed under the title 'Dongfeng Renault Automobile Company['s] 150,000 passenger automobile [production capacity] site'. The site's location was listed as being in Hanyang District's Huangjinkou City Industrial Park. The site will contain welding, stamping, painting and general assembly facilities, as well as an engine assembly line and R&D center. It will focus mainly on production of SUVs and minivans.
There are also reports circulating in the media that Renault will build a second factory in the city in 2017. According to the reports, that site will boast a production capacity of 300,000 vehicles and 600,000 engines.
However, the site still needs approval from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), as well as the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments. Dongfeng and Renault have reportedly already sent an application to the NDRC and are currently awaiting its approval. However, according to an anonymous source, it will be difficult for the companies to gain official certification within the first quarter of the year.
Despite its lack of a successfully operating joint venture in China, Renault has been active in the country for longer than a lot of its foreign competitors. The manufacturer first established a JV with Sanjiang Aerospace Group in 1993, however due to sluggish sales the company halted production. Renault and Dongfeng have reportedly been in talks to establish a new JV, possibly using the license from the defunct Sanjiang venture.
