Continental expands its Tianjin plant

German automotive supplier Continental AG has almost doubled its facility in Tianjin's Binhai New Area, a move that is expected to sharpen its competitive edge in certain technical areas, including electrification.

The plant, which started operation on December 5, 2017, has scaled up its construction floor area to 53,000 square meters from 28,000 square meters. The investment stood at around $80 million, according to Xinhua.

The expanded plant features a workshop dedicated to producing a high-voltage electric drive system, called the Electric Machine with Reducer, that will ensure that Continental can satisfy the fast-growing new energy car segment in China, said the company.

China has been the world's largest market for new energy cars since 2015. It delivered 770,000 such vehicles in 2017, and the figure is expected to hit a million this year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Besides the electric drive system, the plant will start manufacturing decorative and functional plastic products that are to be used in transmissions and car bodies.

It has also expanded its annual production capacity of transmission control units, tire pressure monitoring systems and car body control modules.

David Revill, general manager of the plant, said he is glad to see the facility's rapid development over the years and thanked the local authorities for their continuous support.

The Tianjin plant, built in 1995, was one of the first Continental facilities in the country.

Tianjin is home to several other vehicle manufacturing facilities, including those of Great Wall Motor and Sino-German joint venture FAW-Volkswagen.

"Our plant has rich experience in engineering development as well as production and operation, and I am sure the expansion will enable us to further meet the growing demand of customers in China and around the world," said Revill.

Enno Tang, president and CEO of Continental China, said the expanded plant shows the company's confidence in the Chinese market.

"For us, China is a very important market, and the Tianjin plant is an important part of our strategy in the country. We will continue to increase our investment here and we are confident of achieving more," said Tang.

Continental invested 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in China From 2012 to 2017 and said it plans to invest a similar amount in the next five years.

Established in 1871, Continental came to China in 1994. It now has 27 manufacturing facilities and 17 research and development centers in the country, with about 25,000 employees.