Magneti Marelli Inaugurates New Suspension Facility in China

Magneti Marelli is further cementing its position in the Chinese automotive industry with the recent inauguration of its new facility for suspension systems in Guangzhou. The facility is located near the Planvim Industrial Park in Nansha District and will incorporate with the Suspension Systems area, the industrial perimeter of Magneti Marelli in China. The new facility will also reportedly host pedals systems production.

The structure covers an area of 27 thousand square meters, more than 17 of which are dedicated to production facilities. With the production capacity at full speed, this will enable the facility to supply suspension systems for around 220 thousand vehicles annually, and pedal boxes for around 100 thousand vehicles annually. Initially, the facility will start with a team of around 60 employees.

According to Sylvain Dubois, Country Manager of Magneti Marelli China, over the last decade, they have invested in new space, expertise, and new centers for R&D to support their clients. He said that with the inauguration of the facility in Guangzhou, Magneti Marelli China incorporates the activities related to suspension systems and plastic components and modules, also to support directly FCA Group brands in the region.

In a statement, Antonio Ferrara, CEO of Magneti Marelli Suspension Systems, also commented that the inauguration of the Nansha facility is a critical result for the Suspension business are when it comes to the standardization of processes and the application of state-of-the-art production technologies. He stressed that when it comes to standardization, they are, for instance, now able to emulate the same type and quality of process in Europe, in China, and in Brazil—the three leading production areas in the automotive world. “In terms of technology, we have furthermore implemented an evolved welding technique which allows us to obtain traceability for every single product.”

Since 1996, Magneti Marelli has been present in the country with production facilities and R&D/Engineering Centres in Shanghai (New Headquarters just opened this month, SAGW Powertrain JV), Guangzhou (Electronic Systems, Suspension Systems e Plastic Components and Modules Automotive), Wuhu (Automotive Lighting and Powertrain), Hangzhou (Shock absorbers in JV with Wanxiang Qianchao Company), Changsha (exhaust systems), Changchun (Powertrain in JV with FUDI), Foshan (Automotive Lighting), Hefei (exhaust systems with JAC and Lingdatang), and Xiaogan in the province of Hubei (China South Industries Group Corporation – CSI Automotive Lighting JV).

In December last year, Automotive Lighting and Changchun Fudi have also inked a deal to set up a joint venture targeted at lighting systems for the automotive market, that will be located in Changchun.