According to the Automotive News Europe, JAC is considering building an assembly plant in Slovakia to take advantage of the country’s euro zone membership, central European location and business environment, the Slovakia’s economy ministry added.
Owned by the Chinese state, JAC is an established truck maker that started to make minivans and compact sedans a few years ago. Founded in 1964, the company opened in 2005 an R&D center in Turin, Italy.
Jianghuai Automobile Company says it has an annual capacity of 500,000 cars and exports to more than 100 countries including Russia and Ukraine, as well as Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Its 2009 sales revenue was reportedly $3 billion.
Slovakia, the euro zone's newest member, is emerging from a deep economic crisis and needs new investment to cut unemployment which has hit five-year highs.
"We are negotiating conditions of our entry to your market with Slovak officials," the economy ministry cited JAC regional head David Wang as saying. "Therefore, I do not want to be specific about the size of the investment in this phase. All I can says is that it is about passenger cars and light trucks," he added.
The automotive sector has a central role in Slovakia’s economy, with the country being the world's largest producer of cars per capita since 2007, with a total of 571,071 cars manufactured in the country in 2007 alone. There are currently three automobile assembly plants: Volkswagen's in Bratislava, PSA Peugeot Citroen's in Trnava and Kia Motors' Zilina Plant.
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