GM, SAIC JV focuses on auto engineering
( 2002-08-19 10:19) (1)
The Pan Asia Technical Automotive Centre (PATAC), a joint venture between General Motors and the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC), aims to boost its complete vehicle development capability by 2010.
The aspiration was revealed by Zhang Zhenhua, executive vice-president of PATAC, at a ceremony marking the centre's fifth anniversary on Friday.
The US$50 million PATAC is the first Sino-foreign specialized automotive engineering and development company in China.
Zhang said PATAC was presently able to redesign vehicle models developed by other companies.
"However, we are stepping steadily towards our goal," he said.
Zhang said PATAC's biggest achievement in the past five years was in assisting Shanghai GM, a car manufacturing joint venture between General Motors and SAIC, to re-engineer Buick Sail compact cars.
PATAC also designed the Qilin concept car in 1999 and produced the Phoenix fuel cell concept vehicle in November.
Zhang said he was not able to reveal this year's design model for Shanghai GM as it involved "our clients' business secrets."
Phil Murtaugh, head of General Motors in China, said the world's No 1 carmaker and SAIC would further invest in PATAC to allow its development.
"For China to have a globally competitive automotive industry, it must have its own vehicle development capacity," Murtaugh said.
The industry is facing challenges from foreign rivals, especially in the passenger car market, as a result of China's entry into the World Trade Organization.
Zhang said PATAC was seeking other clients at home and abroad besides General Motors and SAIC and their joint ventures in China.
He said at the moment, only 10 per cent of PATAC's business came from non-GM and SAIC clients.
Apart from Shanghai GM, General Motors has a smaller scale joint venture with SAIC - SAIC Wuling Automobile Co Ltd in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
General Motors also has a sport utility vehicle and four-wheel-drive joint venture with another Chinese partner in Northeast China's Liaoning Province.
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