Fuji seeks joint venture with Chery to produce cars in China
Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., a Japanese automaker seeking an alliance with Chery Automobile Co. in China, will pursue a deal until the end of this fiscal year to produce its Subaru cars in China.
"We'll pursue the possibility of beginning production in China until the end of this fiscal year," company President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga told reporters in Tokyo.
Fuji Heavy, which is 16 percent owned by Toyota Motor Corp., must win regulatory approval from Chinese officials for a proposed joint venture with Chery. Toyota already has two partnerships in the country, the maximum under foreign investment rules.
Separately, Chery is negotiating a joint venture with India's Tata Motors Ltd. to produce its Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles in China. (See related story in this newsletter.)
Fuji, which produces Subaru-brand cars and SUVs, forecasts its 2012 global sales will grow 13 percent to a record 700,000 units.
