Italian auto supplier Magneti Marelli is creating its “ideal footprint” for China's auto lighting needs through a joint venture that will add a new manufacturing site in Changchun.
Milan-based Magneti Marelli will own 60 percent of Changchun Magneti Marelli Automotive Lighting System Co. Ltd., while partner Chanchun Fudi Equipment Technology Development Co. Ltd. of Shanghai will own the remaining 40 percent.
The two companies have had another JV focused on powertrain components in China since 2012.
The JV will provide a location in the region north of the Yellow River, which the companies said in a Dec. 21 news release is a strategic area for the auto sector in China, where both Chinese and international automakers have plants.
“Our objective is being logistically and technically near them, in order to support their business growth in the best way possible,” said Ermanno Ferrari, CEO of Magneti Marelli's lighting group in a statement.
The facility will provide a range of lighting systems, with both rear lights and headlamps using halogen, xenon and LED technologies. All of the lighting systems use a range of plastics, especially polycarbonate.