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GM to invest US$3b in China in 3 years
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-06-07 12:03
General Motors Corp plans to invest more than US$3 billion in China over the
next three years with the introduction of new vehicles and power trains, the
building of new facilities and expansion of manufacturing and a new financing
joint venture, the automaker announced Sunday.
US auto giant
General Motors will invest more than US$3 billion in China over the
next three years and double capacity to 1.3 million vehicles in the same
period. Here a GM model and a Chinese guard on the Great Wall. [AFP
file] | The new investment will be funded by
profits from GM's China joint ventures, and the company said it is expected to
open up jobs and business opportunities in North America and China.
"GM remains highly confident in the long-term prospect of the China market.
With the world's fastest-growing vehicle market, success in China is crucial to
GM's global success," said Phil Murtaugh, chairman and chief executive of
General Motors China Group.
The world's No. 1 automaker and its Chinese partners plan to introduce nearly
20 new and upgraded products, including luxury vehicles, in the next three
years, most made in China. Among those will be several Cadillac models, which
will be made at Shanghai GM and imported from North America.
GM and Chinese partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group plan to build
an advanced prototype lab to test noise, vibration and harshness, as well as a
kinetics and compliance lab.
The company said it also will more than double its vehicle assembly capacity
in China, to 1.3 million units by 2007.
In addition, GM and SAIC have received approval from Chinese banking
regulators to establish a joint financing venture, which would be the first
foreign automotive financing joint venture in China, GM said in a statement.
Chinese workers working on an
assembly line of Buick at Shanghai General Motors factory in Shanghai,
China, in this May 20, 1999 file photo. General Motors Corp. says it plans
to invest US$3 billion in China over the next three years in an aggressive
expansion despite worries that the fast-growing auto market may be headed
for a slowdown. [AP] | The company's announcement
on Sunday came after first-quarter earnings released in April showed it was
improving in Asia and strong in its financing arm.
GM's automotive operations reported a 12 percent increase in earnings in the
first quarter of 2004, from US$546 million last year to US$611 million, despite
lower production levels in North America and Europe.
GM Asia Pacific earned US$275 million, up from US$75 million a year ago. Its
market share grew from 4.3 percent last year to 4.7 percent in the first
quarter, led by gains in China and India.
In the first quarter, GM and its partners sold roughly 178,000 vehicles in
mainland China, a 56 percent jump from the same time in 2003.
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