German automotive giant Mercedes-Benz laid the foundation for its first overseas engine plant in Beijing on Saturday.
The new factory of Beijing Benz-Daimler Chrysler Automobile Co., co-invested by Beijing Automotive Group and the Daimler Motor Company, the German automobile investor, is expected to go into operation in 2013 to produce 250,000 gasoline engines for three designs.
The 1.6-L, 2.0-L and 3.0-L engine types will be Daimler's most advanced, which will be used in the domestic automobiles of Beijing Benz, to cut costs and raise the competitiveness of the company, said Xu Heyi, board chairman of Beijing Automotive Group and Beijing Benz-Daimler Chrysler Automobile Co.
According to the strategic contract between Beijing Automobile Group and Daimler, Daimler will also build a research and development center in Beijing, as well as introduce more types of automobiles for production in China, Xu said.
Beijing Benz will have new types of cars produced domestically every year in the future, Xu said.
The current production volume is 100,000 automobiles annually and is expected to reach 400,000 to 500,000 in 2015.
The entire investment of the new plant and the R&D center will reach 30 billion yuan (4.6 billion U.S. dollars).
