DETROIT — American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. (AAM) has entered into an agreement, through one of its subsidiaries, to form a joint venture with Hefei Automobile Axle Co Ltd. (HAAC), a subsidiary of the JAC Group (Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Co. Ltd).
The new company, Hefei AAM Automotive Driveline & Chassis System Co. Ltd., will manufacture and sell rear beam axles, front axles, power transfer units (PTU), Rear Drive Modules (RDM) and suspension modules for passenger cars, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) for the Chinese market.
Each party will own 50 percent of the joint venture. Subject to regulatory approval in China, the joint venture is expected to commence operations in the first quarter of 2009.
The Hefei AAM manufacturing facility, situated approximately 400 kilometers west of Shanghai, is located in the state level economic development zone of Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province, China.
"The Hefei AAM joint venture is AAM’s second manufacturing operation in the fast-growing China market. The new products to be manufactured in this facility, as well as the new customers to be served by this joint venture, support our long-term strategic goals of expanding and diversifying AAM’s product portfolio, customer base and global manufacturing and sourcing footprint," said AAM Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO Richard Dauch. "AAM is pleased to partner with the JAC Group in this important business venture and we look forward to many years of successful cooperation."
The new joint venture will provide systems and components for JAC Automotive, a premier Chinese automotive OEM. The main products of JAC Automotive include a recently launched new generation of passenger cars, SUVs, MPVs and commercial vehicles.
