Bird launched Fenghua auto plant in Zhejiang

Ningbo Shenma Automobile Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of Bird Scientific and Technological Group, held a ground-breaking ceremony at Fenghua Inustrial Park, Zhejiang province last week for its new automobile project scheduled to be completed by 2009. By then Ningbo will be able to launch its self-brand buses, marking Bird's formal entry into the automobile industry.

Ningbo Shenma Automobile Co., Ltd. is located in Jiangdong District, and it was exclusively acquired by Ningbo Bird Scientific and Technological Group for a price of 20 million yuan in June 2005. The Bird Group has relocated the automobile project to Fenghua following a series of geographical investigations. The investment for the relocation is 250 million yuan, and the construction will take 22 months.

The Fenghua automobile manufacturing plant is to produce 2,500 buses annually - 1,500 public transportation buses and 1,000 medium-sized buses. Auto sales are expected to top 1.5 billion yuan each year. According to Shenma Auto, the coach maker will have a production capacity of 5,000 buses after it makes its own chassis and complete vehicles. Shenma Auto also aims to develop electric-powered city buses and has joined forces with Tianjin enterprises in researching the field.