Japanese auto parts maker G-Tekt Corp. will build a new factory in the eastern Chinese city of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, to cater to the rapidly growing electric vehicle market in the country.

G-Tekt plans to open the new factory in April 2023 with an investment of 6.4 billion yen as the company based in Saitama, north of Tokyo, expects robust demand to continue for its lightweight, high-rigidity auto body parts that fit well with EVs.

Auto Parts Alliance (China) Ltd., a wholly owned unit of G-Tekt, will set up a new company, Guangzhou Nansha Auto Parts Alliance (China) Ltd., for the operation of the factory featuring cutting-edge equipment such as large transfer press machines and large blanking press machines.

The new firm will have an initial capital of about 3.9 billion yen and be owned fully by Auto Parts Alliance (China), which currently has two factories in Guangzhou.

These plants' manufacturing operations will be reviewed with the launch the new factory, planned to sit on a 45,000-square-meter plot, to enhance user convenience, according to G-Tekt.

Sales of new-energy vehicles, including Evs and plug-in hybrid vehicles, in China rose 10.9 percent in 2020 from the previous year to a record 1.37 million units, despite a 1.9 percent decline in overall auto sales in the country, according to data issued by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers in January. (NNA/Kyodo)

==Kyodo

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