South China car maker to raise production capacity

FAW Haima Automobile Co. Ltd., a car maker in south China's Hainan Province, on Saturday began construction of a third factory.

The factory will double the company's annual production capacity of 150,000 cars, said Jing Zhu, chairman of the board of Haima Investment Group Shareholding Co. Ltd, parent company of FAW Haima Automobile Co. Ltd.

Covering an area of 55.3 hectares, the factory will make products including 150,000 cars and 200,000 sets of gearboxes annually upon completion in 2010.

It is estimated the fixed asset investment for the new factory alone will top 1.5 billion yuan (about 214 million US dollars), but the factory can lead to formation of an automotive industry chain featuring the creation of 30 billion yuan in industrial output value and three billion yuan in pre-tax profits, plus 5,000new jobs, according to Jing.

"This new factory will specialize in making A-class sedans," said Jing.

FAW Haima automobile, with a history of two decades and two factories with a combined production capacity of 150,000 cars, formerly cooperated with Mazda of Japan from 1990 to 2006. It now mainly produces passenger vehicles of medium grade.

The company, with headquarters in Haikou, the provincial capital of Hainan, sold 131,000 cars last year, up 62 percent from2006, and is hoping to sell 180,000 cars this year.