The president of Honda Motor Co. said Wednesday his company will set up a joint manufacturing plant in the Chinese coastal city of Guangzhou to produce and export small cars to the rest of Asia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Honda, Guangzhou Auto Group Corp. and Dongfeng Motor Corp. will each invest in the new plant, which will begin production by the end of 2004, Hiroyuki Yoshino said at a news conference held to announce Honda's new three-year business plan.
The new plant will mark a historic first, according to a Honda official, who said that no other Japanese automaker has focused on exports from China. The ownership percentage of the joint venture has yet to be determined, he added.