Sino-French Auto Maker Reports Brisk SalesDongfeng-Citroen Automobile Co. Ltd., the largest Sino-French joint venture based in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, sold 23,482 cars in the first six months of this year, up 30 percent from the same period of last year.According to Zhang Shiduan, general manager of the company, the car's output reached 23,839 during the period and its market sharing rate on the domestic market has risen to 9 percent, a two percentage points increase over the year-ago period. The Dongfeng-Citroen Automobile Co. Ltd. is jointly financed by Dongfeng Automobile Company, French Citroen and its banking partners with an investment of 10.36 billion yuan (about 1.25 billion U.S. dollars). Dongfeng's investment accounts for 70 percent of the joint venture, while Citroen owns 25 percent of the stake and two French banks, the Banque Nationale de Paris and Societe Generale, the remaining 5 percent. The joint venture is designed to produce 300,000 cars and 400, 000 engines annually and will be completed in two stages. The joint venture has so far built a marketing network that covers 243 Chinese cities with 502 sales outlets. |
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