Hankook started a trial run of the phase two project at its Chongqing plant in May, which includes 6 million passenger car radial tire capacity and 900,000 truck and bus radial capacity annually.
Construction of the project began in January 2014. The trial has been successful and the facilities are expected to start full operation shortly, according to the company.
The Chongqing plant, with additional 28,800 tire/year TBR capacity completed earlier in the phase-one project, is Hankook’s most heavily invested plant in China with about $156.7 earmarked.
Several major automotive companies, such as Changan Ford and Shanghai GM, have set up factories in Chongqing, and the city has a new International Automotive Town with investment in hundreds of millions in the pipe line.
Hankook said it plans to supply most of its output to auto manufacturers in West China, and is especially keen to partner up with Changan. – Rubbernews.com