Airbus looks to China
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On the day its starts production at its new factory in Tianjin, Airbus has said that it may buy up to US$1 billion worth of its aircraft manufacturing components from China by 2020, Bloomberg has reported.
The new Tianjin facility will be able to assemble four of Airbus’ A320s a month by 2011, according to the manufacturer’s Chief Executive Tom Enders, bolstering Airbus’ procurement from China from last year’s US$70 million.
“We’re already in a steep first year to increase our sourcing,” Enders said in an interview before opening it’s the Tianjin plant. “In two years, we’ll triple it, double it again in three, four or five years later.”
Airbus estimates that China will need 3,000 planes in the next 20 years as the country and its aviation industry expand. Approximately one of every five orders for new plane this year may be by a Chinese airline, according to Airbus Chief Commercial Officer John Leahy. Airbus is poised to sign a 280-aircraft order with Chinese airlines before January 2009, Leahy added.
At present, approximately 96% of Airbus’s employment and 75% of its procurement is in Europe, however Airbus is keen to branch out, identifying China, India and North Africa as potential sites for developing more cost-effective, regional bases.
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