As most automakers in China report healthy sales growth amid the global downturn, Paris-based Inergy Automotive Systems is building a plastic fuel system plant in suburban Beijing.

According to a media report from Qianlong, the company is investing a total of 300 million yuan (US$43.9 million) in the plant located in the Beijing Auto parts Industrial Base in Shunyi district, a suburb northeast of Beijing. The first phase of the project will cost 120 million yuan (US$17.5 million), cover a factory complex of 21 mu (150,685 square feet), and is expected to start production by the end of this year, creating more than 100 jobs and generating annual sales of 300 million yuan (US$43.9 million). The company has secured contracts from Hyundai's Beijing operation.

Inergy is a joint venture between Cie. Plastic Omnium of France and Solvay SA of Belgium. Its first manufacturing facility in China went on stream last summer, with reported annual capacity of 400,000 parts.

In an effort to further boost its domestic market, China is expanding its rural purchase incentive programs for appliances and electronics to include automotive vehicles as well. Farmers will receive reimbursements of up to 5,000 yuan (about $730) per vehicle on purchases of light trucks or minivans and up to 650 yuan ($95) per unit for motorcycles, according to the Finance
Ministry.

Beijing continues to subsidize both domestic and foreign brands in its rural purchase incentive programs. General Motors Corp.'s mini vehicle joint venture, SAIC-GM-Wuling, is believed to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the plan. The joint venture claims it supplies half of the Chinese market for light vehicles.

The "cars to the countryside" plan will cost the government 5 billion yuan ($730 million) and is expected to boost vehicle sales by more than 1 million units this year, which will help to push China's total auto sales above 10 million units for the first time.

Auto supplies such as Lingyun Industrial Corp. also will benefit from the plan, Chinese media said.

In a speech at the recent Asia Manufacturing Forum 2009 in Beijing, an executive from Textron Inc., parent company of blow molder Kautex Textron GmbH & Co. KG, said the company is considering further investment in China.

Martin M. Lin, president of Textron China, said the expansion will support the increasing demand from the nation's automotive industry, according to a transcript of his Chinese speech provided by 163.com. He didn't go into details.

"Our China team achieved 30 percent cost reduction by redesigning tools and work flow," he said, "Localization also helps our customers increase added-value."

Kautex makes plastic fuel tanks at its factories in Changchun, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

China's 93 percent year-over-year growth rate for auto sales in November bodes well for all car makers and suppliers. And the icing on the cake goes to luxury vehicles.

According to the Wall Street Journal, compared to a year ago, Mercedes-Benz tripled its November sales in China to 8,900 cars, and Audi more than doubled to 16,503. Audi AG has said it expects China to surpass Germany and become its largest sales region in 2012 or 2013. BMW AG also said sales in China were up 40 percent, to 8,470 cars.