Mitsubishi to almost double engine output in China

Mitsubishi Motors is looking to almost double its engine manufacturing capacity at its Chinese unit in Shenyang to 420,000 engines a year by 2010, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Construction of a second plant at its existing facilities south of Shenyang should be completed by early 2009, according to Nobuhiro Ishino, head of the company’s powertrain operations in China. The new plant's annual production target for its first year of operations is 100,000 units, rising to 200,000 units in 2010, with the hope that it will reach 300,000 units in the medium to longer term.

The opening of the new plant will boost the company’s total local engine capacity from 220,000 units per annum to 420,000 upa in 2010 and eventually 520,000 upa in the longer term. The new plant is part of the company's strategy to make the north-eastern Chinese city a global supply centre for small engines.