Dongfeng Nissan to build $730-mln new plant

Shanghai, August 5 (Gasgoo.com) Dongfeng Nissan, a joint venture between Dongfeng Motor Group and Nissan Motor Co., signed an agreement on August 3 with Guangzhou municipality to build a new assembly plant in the southern Chinese city with total investment of 5 billion yuan ($730 mln), sina.com said today.

The Guangzhou Huadu-based passenger vehicle plant, which is scheduled to operate in 2012, will have a capacity of 240,000 units, boosting the annual capacity of Dongfeng Nissan's Huadu production base to 600,000 units.

Dongfeng Nissan's current annual production capacity is 460,000 units at the Huadu plant and the Xiangfan plant in central province of Hubei. Once the expansion is completed, total production capacity of Dongfeng Nissan will reach 700,000 units.

Dongfeng Motor Group said the expansion will safeguard the mid- and long- term business plan of its joint venture with Nissan. Dongfeng, the third largest Chinese automaker, also has joint ventures with PSA Peugeot Citroen and Honda Motor.

In the first half, Dongfeng Nissan sold 225,000 vehicles, up more than 40% from a year earlier. The company is likely to reach its full-year sales target of 388,000 vehicles ahead of schedule, compared with its full-year sales of 350,000 units in 2008.

The venture produces and sells a variety of Nissan models in China, including the recently redesigned New Sylphy (Xuanyi) sedan.