Japan's Mazda Motor
Corp said yesterday it will form a car sales joint venture in
China with First Automotive Works Corp (FAW), China's premier
vehicle producer.
Under the plan, Mazda, 33.4 per cent controlled by
Ford Motor Co, will hold a 25 per cent stake in the joint venture
with a registered capital of US$100 million yuan (US$12 million).
FAW and its Shenzhen-listed affiliate FAW Car Co
Ltd will control 5 and 70 per cent of the joint venture.
The new firm, to be based in Changchun, Northeast
China's Jilin Province, will be responsible for marketing all
Mazdas made in China and will begin operating in March, the companies
said in a joint statement.
FAW Car Co Ltd now produces Mazda6 medium-sized sedans
in Jilin under a technical licensing deal with the Japanese firm.
FAW's other plant on Hainan Island also holds licences
to produce Mazda's Familier sedans and Premacy multi-purpose vehicles.
Mazda will also manufacture cars at its newly-launched
joint venture in eastern Jiangsu Province with Ford and China's
Chang'an Motor Corp.
The new venture, which will also make Fords, will
have an initial manufacturing capacity of 150,000 units annually,
but this could be expanded to 200,000 units.
Mazda announced last week that it aims to sell 300,000
cars in China annually by 2010.
Last year, its sales in China grew by 21 per cent
to 97,132 from 2003. This year the company's goal is to break
100,000.
To help achieve this, Mazda plans to introduce eight
new models in China within the next three to four years.
"The creation of the sales joint venture marks
Ford's closer links with FAW," said Kenneth Hsu, Ford Motor
China Group's spokesman.
Ford also runs two manufacturing joint ventures with
Chang'an, China's third largest automaker in southwestern Chongqing
Municipality, and Jiangling Motors in East China's Jiangxi Province.
The Ford-Chang'an venture currently makes Fiesta
compact sedans and Mondeo mid-sized sedans.
The venture with Jiangling produces Transit
commercial wagons.
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