South Korea's Ssangyong Motor Corp, the country's fourth-biggest carmaker,
has renewed plans to set up a manufacturing plant in China, according to media
reports.
But Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corp, which owns a majority stake in
Ssangyong, told Shanghai Daily that discussions on how the vehicles made by
South-Korea's fourth-largest automaker would be brought to China are still under
way.
The media report, quoting an unidentified senior executive at Ssangyong, said
the company wants to assemble its Kyron sports utility vehicle under cooperation
with SAIC.
A translation of the report was posted yesterday on the Chinanews.com
Website.
The news comes several months after Ssangyong's president announced a
decision to drop a similar plan after the Chinese government's revealed it was
considering stricter approval requirements for new joint ventures due to
overcapacity in China's auto industry.
According to the new reports, the Pyeongtaek-based company aims to sell
20,000 Kryons a year in China after 2008.
The Shanghai Security News said Ssangyong is likely to begin production
through a technology transfer and set up manufacturing plants in China later.
Any plan to begin China production, however, will need approval from SAIC,
which owns 50.91 percent of Ssangyong.
"We are still under discussions on how to introduce Ssangyong's vehicles in
China, whether through licensed manufacturing or setting up a new factory," an
SAIC spokesperson told Shanghai Daily yesterday.
In its blueprint for Ssangyong, SAIC, China's second-largest carmaker, is
investing 2.5 trillion won (US$2.5 billion) in the next five years to improve
the company's international competitiveness. The money will be used to roll out
several new models and sell 340,000 units by 2010.
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