The Second Plant of Changan Ford Mazda to Produce the 1st Mazda2

The second plant of Changan Ford Mazda was opened in Nanjing with an approximate capacity of producing 160,000 units every year. The new plant is a project of three companies namely Changan, Ford and Mazda. Half of Changan Ford Mazda Automobile is owned by China’s Changan Automotive Group, the fourth-largest Chinese car producer, the thirty five percent is owned by Ford while Mazda Motor Corp., a Japanese automobile maker, owns the fifteen percent. An investment of US$510 million is given to the second plant.

The Mazda2 model is planned to be manufactured in the new plant on October 30. And according to a statement released at the opening of the new plant, the company also intends to launch a small-car Ford model next year.

The first plant was established in Chongqing. It is able to produce 250,000 units each year which consists of the models Ford Focus, Ford Mondeo, For S-Max, Volvo S40 and Mazda3. According to Nigel Harris, the general manager, there was a production strain at the Chongqing site since the demand for automobile of the first-time auto buyers becomes increasingly high. However, the sales of this site soar up to 57 percent. Ford Focus contributes much to the sales surge.

After Ford experienced falling of sales and high operation cost, it shut down plants and cut staff in the United States. But, China did a big part in the Ford business and is regarded as one of the most important markets of the Company. The China sales for the first eight months this year rose 29% to 114,702 vehicles.