German automaker Volkswagen Group has opened its new facility at Ningbo in south eastern part of China, as part of its plan to expand its production capacity in China.
Located about 150km south of Anting in greater Shanghai area, the new facility has a capacity to produce 300,000 vehicles per year and will create 5,700 new jobs.
Initially, the plant will produce new KODA Superb model vehicles. Volkswagen and KODA models based on the modular transverse toolkit are planned in the next phase.
The new environmentally compatible facility, which was constructed in less than two years, marks the automaker's 16th in the country and 105th worldwide.
Volkswagen Group chairman Martin Winterkorn said that the company is working hard to offer the best vehicles and most efficient technologies for Chinese customers.
"For our Group brands, the Ningbo plant also gives new momentum to tapping the full potential of the huge market south and west of Shanghai," Winterkorn added.
Shanghai-Volkswagen, a joint venture between Volkswagen Group and SAIC Motor, currently operates plants in Anting, Nanjing and Yizheng, Jiangsu province.
Furthermore, a new plant in Changsha is due for completion in 2015, while the plant in Urumqi of Xinjiang region has began production recently.
The group generates most of its sales from China. Last year, the company and its partners Shanghai-Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen produced 2.81 million vehicles in the country. Volkswagen intends to expand its annual production capacity to about four million vehicles by 2018.
Image: Officials at the opening of new Volkswagen plant in China. Photo: courtesy of The Volkswagen Group.
