| 21-05-2008
To generate $1 billion (7 billion Yuan) in sales from the Asia-Pacific region in the next three to five years, ArvinMeritor Inc. is aggressively expanding in China.
In 2007 the company had sales of $570 million (3.98 billion Yuan) in the Asia-Pacific region. China accounted for 43 percent.
A new sunroof plant together with a new technical center will open this month in Shanghai’s Waigaoqiao district. The company declined to reveal investment figures.
The technical center is "a complete design and development test center for China particularly and other regions in Asia," said Frank Pierce, vice president for Light Vehicle Systems-China, at the Beijing auto show.
The tech center will reduce design and validation time by using local engineering and product support staff, Asia-Pacific President Rakesh Sachdev said in a prepared statement.
This includes developing parts specifically for the region, such as door latches, says Pierce. Asian door latches are typically small and light for small Asian cars.
The wholly owned sunroof plant will have the capacity to produce 600,000 sunroofs annually. Production is expected to begin in October 2008. The plant will supply multiple global automakers, says the company.
Editor: Ida Zhang from Chinabuses.com
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