It seems like there's a new land of opportunity. Rumors have surfaced that Volkswagen AG is working on a new transmission manufacturing facility in China in order to support the German automaker's largest market.
While the reports are unconfirmed, if the decision is approved, the city of Tianjin is the likely candidate for the site of the plant and transmission production at the facility will begin no sooner than 2014. Details on exactly which models will be fitted with the new transmissions remain undisclosed. Costs are estimated at about $337 million but more importantly, the plant will also mean 1,500 new jobs for the city.
So far, Volkswagen AG already operates 11 factories in China while four additional facilities are currently under construction.
An enormous presence in the Chinese market, VW AG and its entities Audi, Skoda, and Volkswagen have garnered a total Asia-Pacific sales number of 2.6 million units in 2011.
Finally, source of the info leak has elected to remain anonymous and also stressed that the plans are not official.
