USEUROPEAFRICAASIA 中文双语Français
Regional/ Regional

Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen's Chengdu plant up and running

By Li Yu | China Daily | Updated: 2016-09-21 10:40

Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile's Chengdu plant began production on Sept 7, 13 months ahead of its deadline, in a "fast and furious" effort.

The production of Dongfeng's Peugeot 4008, the plant’s first auto product, was finalized and models will be put onto the market in two months.

On its completion, the plant in Chengdu, Sichuan province, marked the expansion of the company's product structure and scale, as well as its breakthrough in expanding markets in western areas of China.

The Chengdu plant will hit a total production capacity of 360,000 units per year, and expand to more than six types of locally-made cars. Some types of clean cars are also in the pipeline. "This is an example of the Chengdu miracle," said Louis Gallois, chairman of the supervisory board of Peugeot SA.

In fact, the success of the Chengdu plant mirrors the booming auto industry in the region. The industry in Chengdu has embraced rapid growth over recent years, because a larger auto market is forming in China's western regions.

"There are 3.89 million cars in Chengdu, second only to Beijing. The auto market has great potential as well as steady growth. Chengdu consumers are also favored by producers because of their sufficient purchasing ability," said Ruan Qingsong, a professor specializing in economy and management at Shanghai Tongji University.

From January to August this year, the total production of cars in Chengdu hit 650,000, and the figure for this year is expected to reach 1.1 million.

"This year the total output value of the Chengdu auto industry is expected to reach 200 billion yuan ($29.9 billion), and the added value of the auto industry will increase more than 10 percent," said Tang Liangzhi, Party chief of Chengdu.

"Driven by the Chengdu plant, the structures of the auto industry and auto parts business are both optimized," Tang said. Chengdu announced its aim to build up a bigger and stronger auto industry in its 2016 government work report. It decided on Longquanyi district as a base for auto production in a working plan for 2025.

Longquanyi district has gathered FAW Volkswagen Automobile, Volvo Group, Zhejiang Geely and 11 other international, well-known auto enterprises, as well as Bosch, Henkel and more than 300 auto parts companies. In January to July this year, production in the district reached 605,000 units.

Contact the writer at liyu@chinadaily.com.cn

Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US