Changhe Auto sales rise 6% in Jan. despite strike
Despite a four-day strike staged by workers in mid-January, Jiangxi Changhe Automobile Co. sold 17,064 vehicles in January, up 6 percent year-on-year.
Changhe enjoyed strong sales after employees returned to work on Jan. 17, according to the municipal government of Jingdezhen, the southeast Chinese city where Changhe is based.
In 2009, Changhan Automobile Co. acquired Changhe. Both are state-owned companies and each has a joint venture with Suzuki Motor Corp.
On January 13, Changhe workers went on strike after hearing that Changhe's car production would be transferred to Changan's joint venture with Suzuki. The reorganization would have reduced Changhe's product lineup to microvans.
The workers ended the strike after the government agreed to keep their company largely independent from its corporate parent, Changan.
To date, all the managers dispatched by Changan to run Changhe have departed, allowing Changhe to tap its own management team.
Last year Changhe sold 43,643 microvans. Its joint venture with Suzuki sold 68,760 Suzuki-brand vehicles, according to LMC Automotive.
