Apr 19 2007
Yanfeng Plastic Omnium Automotive Exterior Systems Co. Ltd. (YFPO), created following the 1 March 2007 signature of an agreement by Plastic Omnium Auto Exteriors and Yanfeng Visteon, has received the approval of Chinese authorities and its license to operate in China. Plastic Omnium Auto Exteriors will acquire a 49.95% stake in YFPO, which will consolidate the exterior components businesses of Yanfeng Visteon, a joint venture between Visteon Corporation and Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation ( SAIC ).
YFPO will start up operations late in first-half 2007, supplying multiple customers from two production facilities in Anting and Chongqing and will employ approximately 500 people.
The creation of YFPO follows Inoplast’s April 2006 acquisition of a 60% stake in XieNO, which operates four plants and mainly supplies truck manufacturers FAW and China National Heavy Trucks. Inergy Automotive Systems is also building a plant in Wuhan (Hubei Province) that is scheduled to come on stream in 2008 to deliver fuel systems to Nissan and General Motors, while HBPO will supply front-end modules to Daimler Chrysler, also beginning in 2008, from a new assembly plant in Fuzhou.
Plastic Omnium, which had no operations in China prior to 2006, expects to generate revenue of around €200 million in the country in 2012.