Airbus CEO Has High Hopes For Increased Industrial Relations With China

Airbus took another big step toward domination of the global large aircraft marketplace Sunday, by opening its third final assembly line for the A320 in Tianjin, China.

Attending the opening ceremonies were Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Airbus Chief Executive Officer Thomas Enders, and Chinese Party Chief Zhang Gaoli. "With the final assembly line here in Tianjin, we deepen and expand our industrial relationship, which is a key pillar of the internationalization strategy of Airbus," said Enders.

Built in a slim 15 months, the production facility represents a joint venture between Airbus and Tianjin Zhongtian Aviation Industry Investment Company. With production to identical standards as European-made Airbus aircraft, the state-of-the-art assembly line "has integrated technologies from both lines in France and Germany," Enders said.

The line is capable of building both the A319 and A320, with the first A320 slated for completion during the summer of 2009. The plant hopes to ramp up production to complete 44 planes annually by the year 2011.

Airbus estimates reveal the intense growth period anticipated in China over the next 20 to 30 years, predicting a need in excess of 3,000 planes over the period, including 180 super jumbo airliners.

Airbus purchased $70 million US of outsourced materials from China in 2007 alone, and has said it was hoping to triple that amount to more than $200 million US by 2010. Enders further announced "a new goal of one billion US dollars of annual sourcing from Chinese companies in 2020."

China is also developing its own jumbo passenger aircraft technology, having built such a facility last May in Shanghai. "China is an important -- an increasingly important -- part of the global aviation family," Enders said.