Chinese car maker Changan has set up a R&D centre in Nottingham as it prepares to expand into Europe and America.
Changan is the second largest Chinese car maker, with the capacity to produce 2.5 million cars a year. It turns over around £6 billion a year, and its 2010 sales are up 30 per cent year-on-year.
Company officials have previously stated a desire to become a top ten global car manufacturer, but have not set a timeline for achieving this.
Mr XU Liuping, Chairman of the Board for Changan Automobile, said: “Setting up our own R&D centres overseas, including in the UK, is a vital stepping stone for Changan Automobile to utilise global resources and to enter the league of the world-leading car makers.”
The move, which was brokered by the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA), will create up to 200 new jobs over the next three years.
According to EMDA, Changan was attracted by the UK's expertise in powertrains, transmissions, chassis and new energy technologies, and it is in these areas the R&D centre will focus.
Changan already has R&D centres in Beijing, Harbin, Jiangxi, Shanghai and Chongqing as well as two design centres, one in Turin, Italy, which was opened in 2005 and another in Yokohama, Japan, in 2008.
Changan has partnerships in China with Ford, Volvo and PSA Peugeot Citroen.
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Re: Chinese car firm's UK R&D base
Given the growth of the Chinese auto market, if the second largest home-grown player in that market declares that it wants to be in the top ten globally, that seems a perfectly logical aspiration. They only need to keep their position in China as that market grows to achieve their goal.