Nissan-Dongfeng JV Building $800 Million Plant in China

Nissan's China joint venture, Dongfeng Nissan, is building an $800 million production facility in Dalian in China’s Liaoning province.

The plant will manufacture Nissan-branded passenger vehicles and have an initial annual production capacity of 150,000 units by 2014, with the capability of expanding up to 300,000.

Nissan Executive Vice President Hiroto Saikawa says China is the Japanese auto maker’s largest market and will continue to be one of its most important engines of growth.

The Dalian factory will join plants in Huadu, Xiangyang and Zhengzhou to help Nissan reach its sales target of 2 million units in China by 2015, he says.

The government’s Xinhua news agency says Dongfeng Nissan, founded in 2002, sold about 800,000 units last year and 2012 deliveries are up 20.4% compared with like-2011.

The JV also signed a contract to deliver 1,000 Venucia-branded electric vehicles by 2014 to a pilot program being conducted by Dalian’s municipal government. Dalian aims to be a pilot city for alternative-energy vehicles, and Dongfeng Nissan will promote EVs and the infrastructure supporting them.

Dongfeng Nissan President Kimiyasu Nakamura says the Venucia will use Nissan's advanced EV technology. The Venucia EV concept was showcased in April at the Beijing auto show.