Chang'an Ford Mazda Automobile Corporation (CFMA) held an inauguration ceremony on Monday in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, to mark the opening of its second factory in China.

The 3.84-billion-yuan plant, with an initial annual production capacity of 160,000 units, will manufacture passenger vehicles under the brand names of Ford and Mazda. The first model Mazda II is expected to come off the production line in October, with Ford compact car models to be rolled out next year.

Yin Jiaxu, Chairman of CFMA, said the new outfit demonstrated the fruitful cooperation between Chang'an Automobile Group, Ford Motor and Mazda.

Chang'an Automobile Group, headquartered in southwest China's Chongqing, was established in 1862. It has an annual production capacity of one million auto engines and one million automobiles.

In April 2001, Chang'an jointly established Chang'an Ford Automobile Corporation (CFA) with Ford Motor Co. in southwestern China's Chongqing, with each party holding a 50 percent stake, manufacturing 200,000 passenger cars for the Chinese market annually.

When Mazda joined in March 2006, the CFA was renamed CFMA, with Chang'an holding a controlling stake of 50 percent. Ford and Mazda hold 35-percent and 15-percent stakes respectively.

Core products to be manufactured and sold by CFMA include Ford Mondeo, Ford Focus 4D, Ford Focus 5D, Ford S-MAX, Mazda3 and Volvo S-40.

(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2007)