Honda Announces Plan to Produce General Purpose Engines in China

December 15, 2001, China

Corporate

Chongqing, China, December 15, 2001 - Jialing-Honda Motors Co., Ltd., Honda's joint venture company in China, which produces and sells motorcycles, has decided to begin production of Honda's first general-purpose engines in China, starting next summer.

Honda and its joint venture partner, Jialing Industry Co., Ltd. (Group) held an agreement-signing ceremony on December 15 in Chongqing.

The annual production target for the new venture's first year is about 20,000 units, with the target of increasing production with the addition of export units to reach 300,000 units annually by 2004. A new production line for the general-purpose engines is scheduled for installation within the existing motorcycle manufacturing plant of Jialing-Honda. The investment in the new line is estimated to be about 450 million yen.

The general-purpose engine market in China has expanded rapidly over the past several years, with such engines used mainly as generators. Current growth is especially strong in the gasoline engine sector.

The general-purpose engine to be produced at Jialing-Honda is a middle-sized engine called the GX160, which is widely used around the world in business-purpose power generators and pumps. Honda intends to meet the expanding demand by producing locally and reducing costs. In addition to selling the GX160 to Jialing Industry and local OEM manufacturers, Jialing-Honda will also supply the GX160 for business-purpose generators and pumps produced at another one of Honda's local joint venture companies, Honda Mindong Generator Co., Ltd., in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province.

Another ceremony on Dec. 15 commemorated the 20th anniversary of partnership between Honda and Jialing Industry. Honda signed a technical collaboration agreement with Jialing Industry in China in 1981 to enter the Chinese motorcycle market and established a joint venture company, Jialing-Honda, in 1993, to begin production and sales of motorcycles under the Honda brand name. Honda now has seven joint ventures in China in the motorcycle, automobile and power product fields, operating market-oriented production and sales activities.

Outline of Jialing-Honda Motors Co., Ltd.

Established :
January 1993
Headquarters/production facility :
Chongqing City, China
Capital :
US $35.7 million (Approx. 4.39 billion yen)
Equity ratio :
50% Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
50% Jialing Industries (Group) Co., Ltd.
Major business activities :
Manufacturing and sales of motorcycles and general-purpose engines
Number of employees :
Approx. 700
Production capacity :
100,000 motorcycles / year
300,000 general purpose engines / year (2004)
Major products :
Motorcycles; CB125T, CM125, CG125
General-purpose engine; GX160
(production scheduled to start in the summer of 2002)

Major specifications of the GX160

Engine type :
Air-Cooled 4-stroke OHV single cylinder
Displacement :
163 cc
Maximum power output :
5.5 PS (4.1 kw) / 3,600 rpm