NANJING, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) — JATCO, one of the largest manufacturers of automatic transmissions in the world, put its new plant into operation on Friday in Zhangjiagang of east China's Jiangsu Province.
It is the second production base set up and wholly funded by the Japanese company in China.
With some 700 employees, the new plant covers 96,000 square meters and has an annual production capacity of 480,000 transmissions.
The main products will be the Jatco CVT8 models, which are used on premium midsize automobiles of Nissan and Renault brands produced by their joint ventures with China's automaker Dongfeng Motor Corporation, JATCO said.
Teruaki Nakatsuka, president of JATCO, said CVT (continuously variable transmission) technology has been a success in the Chinese market with the fuel-efficient and comfortable rides it provides for automobiles.
"China is an important strategic market of JATCO," Nakatsuka said.
JATCO entered China in 2007 and founded its first manufacturing enterprise in south China's Guangzhou. It also operates plants in Mexico and Thailand.