Magneti Marelli and China South Industries Group sign JV pact for lighting systems

October 14, 2013: Magneti Marelli, through its Automotive Lighting division, and China South Industries Group Corporation (CSI), through its subsidiary Hubei Huazhong Photoelectric Science and Technology Ltd, have recently signed a 50/50 joint venture agreement for the production of headlamps and rear lamps for motor vehicles in China. The JV, called Hubei Huazhong Magneti Marelli Automotive Lighting Co. Ltd., will be located in Xiaogan (in the Hubei province), approximately 60km from Wuhan, and will be featuring a production facility which, according to plan, will start production during the first quarter of 2015. At full capacity, the JV will be able to manufacture about 5 million pieces a year, with a workforce of over 800 people.

The new JV will offer a complete range of automotive lighting products, spanning a wide technological spectrum: halogen, Xenon and LED headlamps, with adaptive front lighting systems; rear lights with bulb lamp, LEDs and light guide technology; solutions for both front and rear fog lamps. Production will be aimed specifically at vehicles manufactured by the China Changan Automotive Group and at automobiles produced by the related joint ventures, in addition to other carmakers operating in China. The joint venture with CSI further strengthens Magneti Marelli’s industrial presence in China in the lighting area, as two large production plants are already operating in Wuhu (since 2005) and in Foshan (inaugurated this past May), in addition to the Shanghai-based headquarters.

“Magneti Marelli has been operating in China since 1996, and it is currently investing huge amounts of resources to bring all of its key technologies to its Chinese customers and to the various joint ventures set up in that country,” said Eugenio Razelli, CEO of Magneti Marelli. “In the lighting field, to speed up and maximize this commitment, we are excited to collaborate with such an important partner as CSI. Its strategic position on the market offers us the chance to come in contact with some of the best-selling Chinese automotive brands, with high technological added value and contents, with whom we can share solutions for the technical evolution of lighting products according to safety, sustainability and design parameters”.