Wuling to get new engines

SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co. will begin producing small engines in early 2009 at a new plant in Qingdao, a local government source says.
    
Construction of the engine plant started a few weeks ago. Qingdao is in the northeast province of Shandong.
    
SAIC-GM-Wuling, a joint venture of Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp., General Motors and Wuling Automotive, has a plant making minivans in the city.
    
The new engine plant will make four engines in two series: the B engine available in 1.0, 1.1, and 1.2 liters and the C engine in 1.4 liters, says an official from the Qingdao Economic and Trade Committee.
    
The official, who declined to be named, says the four engines will share the only assembly line of the plant. He also says the factory will make crankshafts and cylinder bodies and heads at the venue. It will import some unspecified "key components."
    
He also says the engines will be used in the Wuling brand minivans produced at SAIC-GM-Wuling’s Qingdao plant, but may will be sold to other companies later.
    
Many automakers in China are upgrading their engines to meet tightening emissions standards and to improve performance.
    
SAIC-GM-Wuling declined to comment.
    
Harry Zhao, consultant CSM Worldwide’s manager for Greater China powertrain forecasts, says Shanghai GM is trying to sell the 1.4-liter engines to GM Daewoo’s plants in Korea, but GM Daewoo hasn’t decided whether to buy the engines.
    
"There is still a lot of uncertainty over the export," says Zhao.

He adds that the plant may import some high-tech control units for the engines.
    
SAIC-GM-Wuling, with headquarters in Liuzhou in Guangxi province, is the leading minivan producer in China. It also makes the Chevrolet Spark mini-car. Its sales accounted for 52.5 percent of GM’s total China sales of 876,747 units in 2006, according to General Motors.