Airbus begins push for Chinese market - David Gow
Airbus broke out of its European fortress yesterday when it opened a euro520m ($600m) final assembly line for its best-selling A320 aircraft in China and committed to buy $1bn of locally made components by 2020. The plant, the most modern of its kind in the world, is designed to establish a foothold in China's booming aviation market, which is growing at 14.5% a year. Airbus executives said it would see orders for more than 3,000 new planes over the next 20 years as China develops the world's second-largest aviation market after the US.
After an opening ceremony attended by premier Wen Jiabao and more reminiscent of a Communist party congress setting, John Leahy, chief operating officer (sales), said China could account for as much as a fifth of the more than 850 orders the European plane-maker expects this year.
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