Ford and its Chinese partner Jiangling Motors (JMC) have broken ground for a new assembly plant in Nanchang, Jiangxi province. Su Rong(L-3rd), party secretary of Jiangxi province, Robert Graziano(L), Ford Motor China chairman and chief executive officer, were among those present at the ceremony July 18, 2010.

July 19, CapitalVue - Jiangling Motors Corporation (000550) started construction of a $300 million assembly plant in Jiangxi province yesterday, reports Yicai.com.

The plant, with an expected annual production capacity of 300,000 units of vehices, is scheduled to commence operations at the end of 2012. 

Ford Motor, which holds a 30 percent stake in Jiangling Motors, announced that the plant will manufacture both Ford and Jiangling vehicles. 

The two companies already have two production joint ventures. One has an annual production capacity of 50,000 units while the other has annual production capacity of 160,000 units.

Related News:

Ford & JMC break ground for new US$300m plant

July 19, Automotive World - Ford and its Chinese partner Jiangling Motors (JMC) have broken ground for a new assembly plant in Nanchang, Jiangxi province. This plant will produce both Ford and JMC-branded vehicles.

Robert Graziano, Ford Motor China chairman and chief executive officer, JMC chairman Wang Xigao, and Su Rong, party secretary of Jiangxi province, were among those present at the ceremony.

This upcoming plant, which entails investment of US$300m, will have production capacity of 300,000 vehicles per year. The plant is expected to commence operation at the end of 2012.

The Jiangling Xiaolan Base, located around 775km southwest of Shanghai, will incorporate highly automated and flexible assembly lines, Ford said. The OEM said its production experts will work closely with JMC to bring the plant on stream.

"Today's groundbreaking is another milestone in Ford Motor Company's strategy to expand our production and vehicle portfolio here in the largest automotive market in the world. Our recent investments to expand JMC in Nanchang and Changan Ford Mazda Automobile in Chongqing are part of our long-term commitment to bring high-quality, fuel-efficient and fun-to-drive vehicles to China from our global portfolio. Growing our business in China helps contributes to the ONE Ford plan by continuing to deliver strong products and profitable growth for all," Graziano said.

Ford owns a 30% stake in JMC, which produces Ford's CVs in China, such as its Transit model for the local market. The two partners operate two such plants together, with output capacities of 50,000 and 160,000upa, respectively. This, however, will be JMC's biggest and most modern facility.

Ford reported a new sales record in China for the first half of 2010 at 301,524 vehicles, up 53% compared with sales in the January-June 2009 period. Excluding Volvo Cars, Ford Motor China accounted for sales of 285,991 units in H1.

The OEM's passenger car JV in China, Changan Ford Mazda Automobile, reported a 46% year-on-year increase in sales in the first half of this year, at 205,563 vehicles. Ford's CV joint venture with JMC posted record sales of 88,363 units.