BYD to acquire Japanese die maker Ogihara's plant

Shanghai, March 29 (Gasgoo.com) Chinese automaker BYD Co has signed a deal with Japan's major metal die maker Ogihara Corp to acquire a factory from the Japanese company, Nikkei reported Saturday, citing sources familiar with the deal.

BYD will take over the Ogihara factory, including its facilities and about 80 employees, in Tatebayashi, Gunma Prefecture, about 70 km (43 miles) north of Tokyo, on April 1, to make high-precision metal dies, which will be used at BYD's its assembly plants in China.

The plan is expected to help BYD narrow the technical gap with Japanese and Western rivals as higher-precision dies would improve the quality of auto bodies and other products. It was not immediately known how much BYD would pay for the acquisition.

The Tatebayashi plant, one of Ogihara's four domestic die production bases, makes dies for hoods and other auto body parts. Ogihara supplies dies to Japanese and foreign automakers, including General Motors, said a Reuters report.

As a fast growing carmaker in China, now the world's largest auto market, BYD is embarking on an aggressive expansion plan by lifting its investment by 58% this year.