Dongfeng Nissan is China's 9th maker of 1 mln cars

Shanghai, October 6 (Gasgoo.com) By September 2008, China has nine automakers who have stepped across the threshold of making one million vehicles. The latest member of this "1-million-car club" is Dongfeng Nissan, said xinhuanet.com yesterday.

Dongfeng Nissan, a joint venture between Dongfeng Motor Corp and Japan's Nissan Motor Co, celebrated its 1 millionth car rollout on September 19 in its passenger vehicle factory located at Huadu district, Guangzhou. The 1 millionth car, X-Trail, is Nissan's latest SUV model which is going on sale in China in October.

Up to date, the nine automakers in China's "1-million-car club" are Shanghai VW, FAW VW, Tianjin FAW, FAW Toyota, Shanghai GM, Guangzhou Honda, Chery Auto, Beijing Hyundai and Dongfeng Nissan. Of the nine companies, Chery and Tianjin FAW are own-brand Chinese automakers, while the seven others are joint ventures with global carmakers.

Since the JV's founding, Dongfeng Nissan has achieved the one-million-car goal in five years, like Beijing Hyundai who announced the rollout of its 1 millionth car seven months ago. By September 1, 2008, FAW Toyota had also completed the output and sales of its 1 million vehicles. Volkswagen's two Chinese joint ventures Shanghai VW and FAW VW made their 1 millionth cars 15 years and 12 years, respectively, after their birth.

Over the past 30 years, Chinese auto industry has developed rapidly, especially in the field of joint ventures with global carmakers. China has now become the world's second largest auto market after the United States. More and more Chinese carmakers are moving toward their goals of manufacturing 1 million cars.