STORY: German auto supplier ZF opens new e-mobility plant in NE China
DATELINE: June 14, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:44
LOCATION: SHENYANG, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the groundbreaking ceremony
2. SOUNDBITE (English): STEPHAN VON SCHUCKMANN, Member of the Board of Management of the ZF Group

STORYLINE:

German auto supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG broke ground on a new electric mobility plant in China on Tuesday.

The plant, located in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, will primarily produce electric axle drives. Its first-phase operations will start in 2025.

The company said it is working on expanding its presence in China, as the country has moved to the fore when it comes to future trends like electromobility.

SOUNDBITE (English): STEPHAN VON SCHUCKMANN, Member of the Board of Management of the ZF Group
"In the fastest growing market in e-mobility, for us, it again offers the highest growth in e-mobility. So when we look at the development of e-mobility in China, we see a breaking point to over 50 percent of new electric vehicles by 2025, 2026. That's unheard of in the rest of the world. So that is the development that we are following. And any investment required to meet this new market demand of the strong development in this market, we will do in China, out of China. So the effort is, the motivation is to deliver products for this market development out of the region, especially out of Shenyang."

In 2022, the German auto supplier launched new production plants and development projects in six locations in China, including Jinan, Rizhao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Zhangjiagang and Guangzhou.

Its sales in China have grown, reaching 7.7 billion euros (8.38 billion U.S. dollars) over the past fiscal year, a 10-percent increase from the year before.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Shenyang, China.
(XHTV)