By Tong Na

Recently, Changan Auto Co. Ltd, Ford Automobile Co., and Mazda Automobile Co. declared jointly in Chongqing that their joint-ventured company Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd will invest and initiate a new plant construction project in Chongqing, which is also the third complete car production base following the prior two production bases in Chongqing and Nanjing. What's more, in the launch ceremony of the third production base, the presence of Alan Mulally, President and CEO of Ford Motor Company, has transmitted the information that China's auto market takes more and more important position during the new round adjustment of global auto industry after the encounter with international financial crisis.

With the ceaselessly output expansion, Ford's development strategy in China becomes the hotspot that various parties invest interests in. Alan Mulally, who was present on site, expressed that the foundation stone laying of the new plant in Chongqing is an important step for Ford's business expansion in China. On the globe, Ford is committed to launching brand cars that take a leading position in terms of quality, oil economy, security and innovative science and technology to meet consumers' demand. In the future three years, by means of the put-into-production and the enhancement of the output of the new plant, four types of Ford's latest products will be planned to manufacture for Chinese consumers. In allusion to the next step of the market plan, Robert J. Graziano, President and CEO of Ford China, restated firstly his promise making on the 13th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition held in this April, "Next year, we will launch Ford's new power technology EcoBoost in China and other advanced green and energy-saved technologies, such as the gear shift technology PowerShift."

As understood, the new plant in Chongqing occupies the area around 100 hectares with the total investment of RMB3.34 billion yuan. In the early stage, the annual output is 150,000 sets. After the early project is finished, the total output of Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd will reach 600,000 sets. Zou Wenchao, Vice Executive General Manager of Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd, introduced that the new plant in Chongqing will apply Ford's worldwide advanced production technique and process, which is provided with high extensibility and capable of manufacturing different car types. Meanwhile, such a project will adopt the global leading auto manufacture technology and highly automatic equipment, which will totally integrate and support the pressing, car body welding, coating, inner decoration and general assembly of Ford's brand products. In 2012, the car type with ready sale globally-the new generation Ford Focus, will put into production in the new plant.

As the biggest shareholder of the joint venture, Changan Auto had an outstanding performance this year. Xu Liuping, President of Changan Auto, expressed in the foundation laying ceremony that, "The year of 2009 is a special year for Changan Auto. In this January, Changan Auto officially ascended to the first matrix of China's auto industry, and implemented important "one expansion and three constructions" project successively; by this September, Changan Auto has realized for the first time excellent performance with annual production and sales volume breaking through 1 million sets and historically aggregated production and sales volume exceeding 6 million sets. Today, in the field of joint venture and corporation, Changan Auto has also embraced a new milestone. The initiation of the new plant construction is another important achievement of the sincere corporation between Changan Auto and its copartners, as well as a stretch and deepening of both parties' corporation concept of "mutual advantage complement and win-win development" In the face of rapidly developed China's auto market, Xu Liuping expressed that, "Changan Auto has set the mid-term target of taking up 5 percent of the shares in China's car market by 2014. The construction of Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd's third plant is an important step to achieve the target."

Since the early 1980s, Changan Auto has taken a path of self accumulation and rolling development. From developing China's first engine with the brand of Jiangling by means of introducing Japanese Suzuki's micro-auto technology in 1984 to launching China's first independent brand auto with total independent property right - Changan CM8 in 2004, rolling China's first industrialized hybrid power auto with independent brand - Changan Jiexun HEV off the production line, and making the globally strategic auto type Yuexiang go to the market in March, 2009, Changan Auto has always been insisting on the development road to joint venture and independent innovation, which has provided core competence for Changan Auto's sustainable development.

At present, under Changan Auto, an integrated brand distribution has shaped up, which includes four major joint venture brands named Ford, Volvo, Mazda and Suzuki, two major independent utility vehicle brands named Changan car and Jiangling Landwind, as well as Changan micro autos. Meanwhile, it owns 20-odd product platforms, and the serial engine platforms from 0.8L to 2.5L have established a product sequence for almost 100 auto types. In the past ten years, the production and sales volume of Changan Auto has increased by 6.8 fold with the net asset value increased by 2.3 fold, and realized a substantial leap. This year, Changan's increase higher than the average level in the industry has also illustrated that Changan Auto has fixed a right position. No matter independent innovation or joint-ventured corporation, it will power up in a new height to create a new future.