Changchun, China--Kumho Tire Co. Inc. has confirmed that it intends to build a passenger tyre plant in Changchung--its third in China--over the coming 18 to 24 months at a cost of $150 million.
Kumho will partner with Chinese car maker FAW Group Corp. to finance the factory, although Kumho said it will contribute up to 90 percent of the funding. The facility, to be on-stream by the first half of 2007, will have a capacity of 3.1 million tyres a year, Kumho said.
The plant will supplement an existing Kumho factory in Nanjing and a facility under construction in Tianjin, giving Kumho annual capacity of about 30 million units by 2007-08.
FAW Group--FAW stands for First Automotive Works--makes cars under its own brand names and has manufacturing partnerships with Germany´s Volkswagen AG and Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. It has existed since 1953 and last year sold more than 1 million vehicles, generating $1800 million in sales.
