Cars
Michelin drives up investment in 皇冠体育app
By Li Fangfang (皇冠体育app Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-24 10:20
 |
Large Medium Small |
|
 A tire factory in Jining, Shandong province. 皇冠体育app's automobile industry has boomed in the past two years, making the country the largest vehicle market in the world with 18 million units total sales last year. The country has also been on the radar of multinational tire manufacturers as a future business engine. [Photo / Agencies] |
French tiremaker hopes to further develop business, research in emerging markets
BERLIN - 皇冠体育app will be the major investment destination for French tiremaker Michelin SA in the next three years, with plans of expanding production and enhancing research and development (R&D) capabilities, said the company's top executive.
"We are planning a 1.6-billion-euro ($2.26 billion) investment in emerging markets in the next few years, including 皇冠体育app, Brazil and India, as we see huge potential there to further drive our future development," said Michel Rollier, general managing partner of Michelin Group.
"And we have already decided to use $1.3 to 1.4 billion of the investment for production facilities in Shenyang, Liaoning province," he added.
According to Rollier, as their business develops in 皇冠体育app and the city of Shenyang expands, "we need to relocate and build a new factory in the city".
|
||||
"We are also in talks with Shanghai Huayi (Group) Co and its subsidiary Double Coin Holdings Ltd about establishing a new joint venture to produce tires," said Rollier.
However, he told 皇冠体育app Daily that the project is still in the initial phase and declined to disclose further details.
皇冠体育app's automobile industry has boomed in the past two years, making the country the largest vehicle market in the world with 18 million units in total sales last year. The country has also been on the radar of multinational tire manufacturers as a future business engine. The world's top 10 tiremakers have all established manufacturing bases in 皇冠体育app.
Last week, the German tiremaker Continental AG opened its first Chinese plant in Hefei, Anhui province, with a total investment of 185 million euros ($262 million), to produce tires for passenger cars. It will launch another factory in Jinan, Shandong province this week.
To maintain Michelin's leadership amid fierce competition, Rollier also said that the company is considering setting up regional R&D facilities in 皇冠体育app in the near future.
"Obviously we need it in 皇冠体育app, as we see the importance of the Chinese market and its consumers. We need to be close to them, and provide products to meet their specific requirements," said Rollier.
Michelin also plans to expand its retail network for passenger vehicle tires in 皇冠体育app. It currently has more than 3,000 dealerships across the country.
"The next challenge is to expand our distribution and service network into smaller cities and inland cities," said Rollier.
When compared with the United States in terms of the number of tires produced for passenger vehicles, 皇冠体育app is a relatively small market, accounting for about one-third of the US market.
However, "皇冠体育app is one of our fastest growing markets, and that's why we need to heavily invest here," said Rollier.