Richard Higgs
EUROPEAN PLASTICS NEWS
Published: May 12, 2014 12:36 pm ET
Updated: May 12, 2014 12:38 pm ET
German automotive lighting system producer Hella KGA Hueck is raising its market profile in China with a deal to launch a new joint venture car lighting plant later this year.
Lippstadt-based Hella recently signed an agreement to form the joint enterprise Beijing Hella BHAP Automotive Lighting with Chinese vehicle manufacturer BEAU, part of auto group BAIC International Corp.
The new 50:50 partnership enterprise, with nominal capital of around 30 million euros will exploit the available infrastructure and expand Hella’s existing location in Beijing, turning it into a full service lighting provider, said the German auto component supplier.
Hella will bring its technological expertise to one of Asia’s fastest growing vehicle manufacturers enabling the enterprise to develop and produce lighting specially tailored to suit the Chinese market, it said.
Following the launch of another Hella production unit at Jiaxing in China, the company established in January a special department for China. “China is a tremendously important market for Hella,” stressed its head and managing director of the Hella Chinese companies Jörg Buchheim.
The German lighting specialist, in the Chinese market since the 1980s initially using licence and cooperation agreements, today employs 4,500 at 10 development, production and administration sites. In the fiscal year 2012/13 the Chinese market generated 8 percent of its total sales. | 
