Nissan's engine plant in RI

Nissan's engine plant in RI

TOKYO (Reuters): Nissan Motor Co Ltd said yesterday it would set up an engine production joint venture in Indonesia in January.

The joint venture will be 51 percent held by Nissan, 30 percent owned by the Indomobile Group, which is based in Jakarta and engages in vehicle manufacturing and sales, and 19 percent owned by Tan Chong & Sons Motor Co Shd Bhd, a subsidiary of Malaysian automaker Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd, Nissan said in a statement.

Nissan owns a five percent stake in Tan Chong Motor Holdings.

The total amount of investment in the joint venture will be 8.5 billion yen, the statement said.

The new Indonesian joint venture, to be called PT Indo Nissan Engine Manufacturing, will begin building a plant in early 1998, the statement said.

The plant is scheduled to start production in the summer of 2000 and will be capable of assembling 40,000 engines a year and making 140,000 engine parts a year, the statement said.

The plant will make engines and engine parts for four-cylinder engines in the 1.3 to 1.8 liter class, it said.

The plant's products will be exported to Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan, it said.

Nissan said it sold about 2,000 vehicles in Indonesia in 1996/97.