Suzuki plans to double China plant production

Suzuki Motor Corp, Japan's second-largest minicar maker, plans to double the production capacity of its China factory in Chongqing with an investment of US$241 million.

After the move, its annual capacity will be boosted to 200,000 vehicles by 2009, said a top official of the company at the Beijing car show on Sunday.

The auto maker said in January that it targets to sell 191,000 units in China this year, a year-on-year rise of 12%.

It has two ventures in the nation, one with China's Chongqing Changan Automobile Co<000625><200625> and the other with Jiangxi Changhe Auto Co<600372>.

Car sales in China in the first quarter rose 21% to 2.58 million units and have about quadrupled in the last eight years along with the nation's double-digit economic growth annually.